Of Past Times
by SamanthaKathy
Summary: Harry's summer holidays doesn't go as planned at all, but despite that he still needs to get his hands on Tom Riddle's diary. At Hogwarts things are changing as well, as Hermione starts the Society for the Integration of Muggleborn. Sequel to TOEoT.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: this story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoat Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

A/N: This chapter is unbeta'd.

Chapter one: A Horrendous Summer Begins

When Harry woke up, he had a moment of disorientation. He wasn't at Hogwarts anymore, but the brightness of the room meant he wasn't at the Dursleys either. Then it all came back to him and he realized he was at Grimmauld Place. In fact, he was in the same room he'd stayed in before.

It wasn't strange that Harry hadn't recognized the room when he first woke up. The only things that were the same where the high ceiling of the room and the doorknob in the shape of a snake. Where the room had been gloomy and dark before, it now had pale blue walls with Quidditch posters on the walls, making the room bright and airy. The twin beds had been replaced with a canopy bed like the ones at Hogwarts.

Harry dragged himself out of bed, got dressed and made his way downstairs to the kitchen in search of breakfast. On his way down there, he once again marveled at the changes. No more house-elf heads, no portrait of Mrs. Black. He was still wondering about how Sirius had managed to get it removed, but he couldn't ask without giving away that he knew much more than he should.

In the kitchen, Sirius was seated at the table with a cup of tea in front of him. A plate of breakfast was waiting for Harry on the table, next to a familiar looking package. Harry stopped dead in his tracks as he gaped t the long, slender package.

"Hey Harry, take a seat," Sirius said cheerfully.

Harry mechanically walked to his chair and dropped down on the seat. He started eating his breakfast, but his gaze kept straying to the package. He knew it couldn't be a Firebolt, that broom wouldn't be released until next summer. Besides, he wasn't playing Quidditch this time around. It might not even be for him, Harry sternly reminded himself. But he couldn't help but hope.

"Why don't you just unwrap it?" said Sirius in a teasing voice.

Harry looked up at his godfather with hot cheeks, embarrassed at getting caught staring. Sirius was looking at him with an impish smile, amusement shining in his dark eyes. With another nod and a soft 'go on' from Sirius, Harry shoved his plate aside and attacked the brown wrapping paper.

Once Harry saw what was inside, he gasped. A perfect, gleaming, brand new Nimbus 2001. Tears burned in Harry's eyes as he stroked the handle of the broom with a shaking hand.

A touch on his shoulder startled Harry. Sirius had walked around to his side of the table and was now standing behind him. The smile had slipped off his face and he was looking anxiously at Harry. Not liking that look on Sirius' face, Harry smiled through his tears.

"It's great," he said with a hoarse voice.

Sirius pulled him in a hug and Harry clung to the other man. All of his fears about Sirius not liking him now that he was a Slytherin had disappeared with this wonderful gift. When the hug ended, Harry felt a lot lighter.

"I figured we could get in some training for the Quidditch try-outs," Sirius said.

"That sounds great!" Harry said with a grin. "I wanted to try out for Seeker. Now I'll definitely have a chance."

"Well, I think we can rustle up another broom and a Snitch somewhere," Sirius said with a wink.

Harry quickly wolfed down the rest of his breakfast while Sirius looked on amused. When he was done, Sirius showed him the garden and the shed, where another new broom was, as well as Quidditch supplies.

"As long as we stay above the garden, we won't be seen by the Muggles," Sirius said.

Considering the garden was about two Quidditch fields in size, Harry wasn't likely to wander outside the boundaries. Quickly donning some gear, they both kicked off the ground. Harry did some loops around the garden, the exhilarated feeling of flying blocking out everything.

"You still want to play?" Sirius shouted at him.

"Bring it on!" Harry shouted back.

Sirius released the Snitch and after a count of ten, both of them started after it amidst much laughter from both of them.

HPHPHPHPHPHP

The first week of the summer holiday was over before Harry could blink. It was filled with flying, getting to know Sirius and some homework. It was a sharp contrast to all the holidays he'd spent with the Dursleys. There the atmosphere had been thick with tension, nothing Harry did or said was ever good enough, and anything magic was definitely off limits. How different life with Sirius was. It was filled with laughter, fun things, and Sirius actually helped him with his homework when Harry asked. It was amazing.

So when Harry came downstairs on Monday afternoon after having worked on his Transfigurations homework, he was surprised to find a melancholy Sirius in the cozy living room. The man looked up as Harry walked into the room, but the smile he tried to give came out more as a grimace.

"Everything all right?" Harry asked.

"Yeah," Sirius said. "Just old memories." He gestured towards the box on the coffee table. "I got this today, it's the box I told you about."

Harry took a seat next to his godfather. Sirius had indeed talked about a box of old stuff from his parents that was in his vault. He'd never seen it before, because in the old timeline Sirius never had the opportunity to get it, if he'd even remembered it.

Together, they started going through the things in the box. First came a stack of photographs. Most of them were taken at Hogwarts and included all the Marauders, but there were a couple that had just James and Sirius in it, as well as two people Harry recognized as his grandparents.

"These were taken in the summer holiday before out last year. I was no longer talking with my family and didn't want to go home, so I stayed with James' parents," Sirius explained.

Harry slowly looked through the pictures as Sirius told stories about that summer. He'd never heard any of this before and for a moment he bitterly thought about everything he could've had. Were it not for the stupid justice system in the Wizarding World, he could've grown up hearing these tales.

After the pictures came a stack of parchments. Sirius handed them over with a grin.

"What's this?" Harry asked curiously.

"Take a look," Sirius said.

Harry started reading, then looked back up at Sirius.

"These are all pranks!" he exclaimed.

Sirius barked out a laugh and nodded.

"Yes, what you're holding is the official record of the Marauders," he said. "All of our pranks, starting in third year, is there."

"This is great," Harry said as he leafed through it.

"Don't get too excited," Sirius said. "If you use them, a lot of the teachers will know exactly who did them."

"Oh, but they have to catch us, besides, we usually change things around," Harry said distracted as he kept reading.

"Us?" Sirius asked.

Harry looked up and felt himself go red.

"Uh…yeah..well," he stammered.

Sirius grinned and squeezed his shoulder.

"Relax kid," he said. "I'm not going to give you away. Although, I am curious as to who else is a member of the next generation of Marauders."

"Oh, well, we just did one prank, really," Harry said. "Draco made the potion and convinced a house-elf to slip it into the Weasley twins drinks, I did the research together with Theo, and Hermione cast the needed charms."

"Did you get caught?" Sirius asked, chuckling.

"Of course not," Harry said grinning.

"Oh, you are so much like your father," Sirius said. "No wonder you got Sorted into Gryffindor."

Harry's mirth immediately vanished. Sirius must have noted his sudden tension as he stopped chuckling.

"You all right?" Sirius asked.

Harry bit his lip. He really hadn't thought this was a problem, he'd figured Sirius knew and was okay with it. And now he'd have to tell him, without knowing how he would react.

"I, uh, I thought you knew, I thought I'd told you," Harry said.

"Hey, slow down kiddo," Sirius said, sounding concerned. He placed a hand on Harry's shoulder. "Whatever it is, it can't be that bad, right?"

"I was Sorted into Slytherin," Harry blurted out.

The hand on his shoulder tightened for a moment and something flickered in Sirius' eyes, but it was gone too fast for Harry to identify.

"Well, you father would still be proud of you," Sirius said softly. "And so am I."

Harry felt weak with relief. Sirius now knew and he was fine with it. In fact, he was even proud. He gave his godfather a smile and together they turned back to the box to see what else was in it. Harry felt silly he had worried at all, after all, Sirius had always loved him for being just Harry.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

The tapping on the window made Harry look up from his homework. It was Hedwig demanding entry and Harry quickly opened the window. The owl soared inside to her perch, where she daintily stuck out her leg to show the letter tied to it.

Harry untied the letter and fed Hedwig a few owl treats. He opened the letter to see Hermione's familiar script flowing on the page. It was the third letter in two weeks and it looked like it was just as long as the other two. In it, she wrote that she was going to Italy with her parents for three weeks, so she wasn't expecting any letters from him until afterwards. Harry figured that it was more because she didn't want to make Hedwig fly all the way to Italy than the fact she wouldn't find the time to write him back, but since he didn't want Hedwig to make such a long trip either, he was fine with it.

What concerned him a little was that she hadn't written down a word about her plans. He knew she had to have some kind of plan regarding the Muggleborn prejudices existing in the Wizarding World, but she hadn't even mentioned it. He just hoped she wouldn't do something impulsive or foolish before talking to him, especially as he'd already promised to help. This was definitely one area in which Slytherin cunning should play a bigger role than Gryffindor bravery.

Harry put Hermione's letter in his trunk with the other letters he'd gotten that summer. With a sigh, he closed the trunk again. Three long letters from Hermione, one letter from Theo, but none from Draco. He didn't know if it was because Draco had not yet found the time to reply to Harry's letter, or if it was because something was wrong. But knowing what he now did about Draco's homelife, Harry was betting on the latter one. He just hoped Draco wasn't in trouble because of Harry's letter to him.

Deciding that he didn't want to risk getting Draco in any more trouble if his letter had indeed brought him the wrath of Narcissa, Harry grabbed some parchment and a quill and jotted down a quick note to Theo. Surely Narcissa couldn't be angry about a letter from a fellow, well respected pureblood, could she? Maybe Theo could get some news from Draco and then tell Harry.

"Sorry to have to send you out again so soon," he said to Hedwig while tying the letter to her leg. "I'm just really worried about Draco and maybe Theo has some answers."

Hedwig hooted softly and gave a gentle nip to his finger, then took flight and left through the open window. Harry watched as she flew away until he couldn't see her anymore before closing the window. He just hoped he didn't bring trouble to Theo's door as well.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

Harry checked his Charms textbook for the third time, but the information really wasn't there. With a sigh, he checked over what he'd written down. No, he hadn't answered the question Flitwick had asked yet. Well, he had, partially, but that wasn't good enough. With a sigh, he picked up his essay and went to find Sirius. Perhaps he could help, or at least point Harry into the direction of another book that would have the answer.

That was one of the many benefits of living at Grimmauld Place, the library full of books about all kinds of magic. The Dark magic books had been removed, apart from one cabinet that was warded, but that still left a whole lot of books on virtually every topic there was. Well, except Muggle Studies, but considering it was the Black Family library, that wasn't too surprising.

Harry walked into the drawing room, expecting to find Sirius there. The man spent most of his time in that room, reading mostly. It didn't surprise Harry in the least. The drawing room was the brightest room in the house, receiving sunlight for most of the day. After years in a dark and dreary cell, it must feel like paradise to Sirius.

"Get down!"

The shout startled Harry, but wartime reflexes kicked in fast. He was crouched down with his wand in hand before he had even processed that it had been Sirius who'd shouted. A glance around the room showed him there were no other people present besides Sirius, who was crouched down by one of the windows. The man had his own wand out and was keeping his eyes locked on something outside.

Carefully, keeping low and out of range from anything that could come through the windows, Harry made his way to Sirius' side.

"What is it?" he asked in a low voice.

"Death Eaters, outside," Sirius whispered.

Harry cursed under his breath. How had they found him? Grimmauld Place was supposed to be protected. For that matter, why were they here? Had Harry's actions that changed the timeline also changed the activity level of the Death Eaters? Harry hoped not, but in truth it didn't matter. They first had to deal with the Death Eaters that were here before thinking about why they were here.

"Can they break the wards?" he asked.

"If given enough time, yes," Sirius said.

"I'll go Floo the Aurors," Harry said.

"No," Sirius said, grabbing Harry by the arm. "We can't trust them. Too many are in You-Know-Who's pocket."

Harry had to admit Sirius had a point. Too many Death Eaters and sympathizers had been allowed to go free after Voldemort's fall, many of them within the Ministry. Still, they should be able to contact somebody for help, shouldn't they?

"Damn it, they seem to be getting through," Sirius said.

Harry left Sirius' side, crawling closer to the next window. It would give them a greater range for their spells. Carefully, he peeked out the window. The street below was deserted, there were no Death Eaters, nor were there any Muggle passersby.

"I don't see them," Harry said confused.

"What do you mean, you don't see them?" Sirius whispered harshly. "There are at least ten of them, right there on the street."

Harry took another look, but the street was still deserted. He glanced over at Sirius, who was still looking out the window. He swallowed harshly. He didn't know what was going on, but there were no Death Eaters. He stood up, catching Sirius' attention.

"James, what are you doing, get down!"

Tears sprung into Harry's eyes at hearing his godfather call him by his father's name. But he bit them back, knowing whatever was going on, Sirius was not in completely rational right now. Before Harry could say anything though, Sirius sprung up, a wild look in his eyes.

"You're not James!" he shouted.

The words brought a spark of hope to Harry that whatever was going on, Sirius was beginning to snap out of it. The Stunner aimed at him told him otherwise. Harry just managed to duck and the spell wizzed over his head.

"Sirius, it's me, Harry," he shouted.

Sirius either didn't hear him, or didn't recognize him. Either way, he kept shooting spells. Harry managed to duck out of the way of some of them and he tried to keep some pieces of furniture between himself and Sirius, while trying to get through to the man. He was forced to put up a shield as Sirius demonstrated he was no slouch at dueling.

"Sirius, please, it's me Harry, remember?" Harry pleaded.

Sirius threw a Blasting Curse his way. Harry saw it hurtling towards him, but he didn't have the time to get out of the spell's path. It blasted against his shield, shattering it and slamming Harry into the wall. Harry cracked his skull against the wall and a sharp pain shot up from his left arm. It was through sheer determination that Harry managed to hold onto both his wand and consciousness.

In a reflex, he recast his shield, which wavered but did manage to deflect the _Incarcerous_ Sirius shot his way. He knew he was getting weaker, knew he was close to losing consciousness. He'd shot a few spells toward Sirius earlier, but Sirius had the upper hand. He knew far more magic than Harry did and Harry had been caught by surprise. Also, Harry didn't want to hurt Sirius, while Sirius had been fighting with no hold barred against Harry.

Now though, Harry was nowhere strong enough to do anything to Sirius. The only way to go was to get away, but Sirius was covering the door. Then Harry's eyes fell on the fireplace, just two steps from where he'd crashed into the wall. But where to go? Then Snape's words from the last House Meeting came back to Harry.

Sirius was advancing on his position, still shooting spells at him and the shield charm was close to collapsing again. In a desperate bid, Harry dropped his shield charm, flung himself towards the fireplace, grabbed a hand of Floo powder, and tossed it into the fire.

"Spinner's End," he shouted while flinging himself into the green flames.

Just before he was whisked, a spell hit him in the back. As he went spinning through the Floo Network, Harry screamed out in pain. Just as he was flung out of a fireplace, everything went black as Harry lost his hold on consciousness.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: this story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoat Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

Author's note: I've joined NaNoWriMo and thus will be writing all of November. Therefore, the next chapter will not be posted until mid-December. On the plus side, if all goes well, I will write 50.000 words on Of Past Times (and the sequel) in November, equaling about 17 chapters!

Chapter two: Summer at Spinner's End

Severus read the letter in his hand carefully, making sure he didn't miss anything important Lucius might want him to know. It was a lengthy missive about the allocation of the education budget for the next school year, which made it particularly difficult to extract all pertinent information. But as far as Severus could see, the Dark Lord's plans had not been changed, and the Dark Lord himself had not been seen since the night he'd given his orders. Their own plans were going well. Narcissa didn't suspect anything untoward, and their meeting at Diagon Alley later in the summer was still on.

Yet in the entire letter there was no mention at all of how Lucius and Draco were faring. The silence alone was telling, and Severus wondered if thwarting the Dark Lord's plan in this way was really worth the cost. He knew that maintaining Lucius' position was important, but he could not help but feel the burn of unfairness. He snorted with derision at the thought, since life was unfair, and no amount of lamenting that fact could change it. He'd learned that lesson at an early age, and the rest of his life had just been a confirmation. He put the letter away and picked up the book he was reading. Sinking his teeth into the new Potions text would surely distract him.

While the fire in the hearth burned merrily, Severus delved into the latest research about medical potions. The silence was a blessing, as was the knowledge that nobody would disturb his peace. He loved teaching, loved helping children reach their potential. But he hated the fact that he had to be so strict to prevent accidents, making a lot of his students dislike him and his class. Not to mention the fact that he had to be blatantly unfair to the other houses in order to balance out all the unfairness heaped upon his Slytherins. He'd seen what that unfairness could push teens to do. He'd been pushed like that himself, and he'd wound up doing something monumentally stupid. With the Dark Lord rising once again, it was more important than ever to present his Slytherins with other options.

Realizing his thoughts had turned dark again, Severus forced himself to focus on his book. Yet he couldn't shake the feeling that this peace and quiet was just the world holding its breath before a storm descended. But as the text grew more complex, forcing Severus to pay attention only to what was written, he stopped thinking about other things and started to relax.

Halfway through the chapter, the fire flared green, and Severus put his book aside. His body was tense in anticipation as he stood, and he gripped his wand tightly in his hand. Nobody ever visited him in the summer; at least, not without notifying him first. Every once in a while, one of his students used the Floo to get to him, mostly after they'd been kicked out or had run away from home. They were usually injured in some way, and it always broke Severus' heart. As the seconds ticked by without anyone coming through, Severus held his breath.

Just as Severus started to become nervous, the fire spit out a young boy in wizarding robes. He wasn't moving, and Severus hurried to his side. He turned the child gently around and gasped as he recognized Harry. Performing a diagnostic scan, Severus was shocked by the injuries Harry had sustained. He had no idea what had happened, but it was obvious the boy had been attacked. After transferring Harry to the couch, he used the Floo to call an Emergency Healer, who immediately stepped through.

"Oh my," the Healer, Forswhite according to the nametag on his robes, said when he saw who he was treating.

"Don't stand there, you dunce," Severus bit out. "Help him, and make sure you record it all."

As the Healer worked on Harry, Severus tried to reach Black to no avail. He hadn't really expected to find him. Black wasn't the type to let Harry wander around without supervision; he'd want to spend as much time with the boy as he could. So they both would've been attacked, and Black was most likely injured or dead. Seeing no other option, Severus used the Floo to call the Auror department. Quickly explaining the situation to the Auror taking his call, he was assured a dispatch would be sent to 12 Grimmauld Place at once, and someone would be coming to Spinner's End to take Harry's statement. Severus thought it more likely they wanted to make sure _he_ wasn't the one harming Harry.

After ending the call, he walked back over the where the Healer was working on Harry. The boy was pale and still unconscious. Severus knew the curse he'd been hit with, and it was nasty. Looking at the Healer working, Severus felt helpless. He'd been worried about several of his students, knowing their home situations, but he hadn't been worried about Harry. In fact, he'd been feeling good about Harry's improved home situation. Looking at the child now, he felt like a failure.

"How is he?" Severus asked.

"He's going to be fine," the Healer answered. "He'll feel miserable for a few days, but the curse was caught in time to prevent serious damage."

"Then why is he still unconscious?" Severus asked, not convinced at all by the Healer's words.

"I spelled him asleep to spare him the pain from the curse," the Healer answered.

"Good," a deep voice sounded from behind them. "That means we can talk without being overheard."

Severus whirled around, wand in hand, berating himself for not paying attention. The wizard who had spoken was a tall, black man. He was well dressed and had an Auror's badge pinned to his robes. Severus relaxed marginally, pointing his wand at the ground instead of straight at the man, but he wasn't letting his guard down completely yet. The war had shown him sympathizers of the Dark Lord were everywhere, and he would not risk Harry's safety by giving trust where none was earned.

"Who are you?" Severus demanded.

"Auror Kingsley Shacklebolt," the man answered, not even fazed by Severus' tone. "Is there a possibility of me speaking with you in private?" he asked the Healer, effectively dismissing Severus.

"You can use the kitchen," Severus said grudgingly, because there was no way he was going to leave Harry with two people he didn't know.

And just like that, Severus was alone in the room, with only the child sleeping on the couch as proof that the last half hour actually happened. He sat down on the edge of the couch, careful not to jostle Harry, and ran his eyes over the boy. He was still pale, but his breathing was more even, and the lines of pain he'd sported were gone. But even though Harry was looking better and the Healer had said he was going to be fine, it still felt like he had a suffocating spell cast on him, restricting his breathing. Severus knew the feeling wouldn't go away until Harry opened his eyes.

"Mr. Snape?" Shacklebolt asked.

Severus was once again caught off guard, and he cursed himself for his laxness. Thankfully, he managed to control himself to a tiny, barely visible flinch instead of jumping up startled.

"Professor Snape," he snapped to cover his momentary lapse in attention.

"My apologies, Professor Snape," Shacklebolt said, a small smile on his lips. "I have taken Healer Forswhite's account. Now I would like to take yours, please."

"Where is the Healer?" Snape asked, hoping he hadn't missed the Healer taking the Floo as well, for that would be too embarrassing.

"He's still in the kitchen. He will be accompanying me to the Ministry for a memory extraction and duplication once we are done here," Shacklebolt said. "Now, can you tell me what happened exactly?"

Severus recounted what had happened from the moment the Floo had activated until Shacklebolt had arrived. It was peculiarly hard to tell the story, especially the part about realizing how badly Harry was injured. Shacklebolt listened without interrupting, and Severus' fears of being accused of hurting Harry himself faded a bit, although they were still present.

"Do you know what happened to Sirius Black?" Severus asked when he'd told Shacklebolt everything.

Severus honestly didn't care much about Black's fate; but since it was so closely tied with Harry's, it was important to know what had befallen the man. He also knew that Harry would want to know as soon as he was awake. A shadow of a frown crossed Shacklebolt's face and then it smoothed back into his professional mask again, making Severus afraid the news was going to be bad.

"When a team of Aurors reached his residence, it became apparent there had been no attack," Shacklebolt said. "As far as we've been able to determine, Mister Black had some kind of delusional attack. He's been transported to St. Mungo's."

"You mean to say Black did this to Harry?" Severus hissed.

"I'm afraid so," Shacklebolt said. "Azkaban must have damaged him."

"And how come the Healers didn't pick up on this before they released him?" Severus whispered angrily.

Shacklebolt had no answer for that, which only enraged Severus further. He wanted to shout, to scream his rage to the man in front of him, but Harry was still asleep, and he didn't want to wake the child. To be attacked in one's own home, by someone that should be protecting you, Severus could imagine only too well how it felt. And he'd thought Harry had been rescued from that. Instead, he'd just been trading one abusive guardian for another. Well, no more.

"As his Head of House, I'm filing an emergency guardianship," Severus said. "Please make sure the necessary people get notified."

He felt a brief flash of triumph at the surprise that showed so clearly on the Auror's face, but the reality of the reason for that surprise dampened any pleasure he could've gotten from drawing a reaction out of the stoic wizard.

"I will notify them," Shacklebolt said. "As soon as Black's condition has been evaluated, there will be a guardianship hearing. I don't expect it will take more than a couple of days before he can be placed with a new guardian."

Severus nodded, knowing Shacklebolt probably thought Harry would just get placed back with the relatives he'd been staying with before Black had been released. But Severus knew better. He was not going to allow that, whether Harry would cooperate or not. Either way, this was one fight he did not intend to lose. This time, he'd get Harry placed with a guardian Severus could trust not to abuse the boy. And the only person he could trust was himself.

As Shacklebolt and the Healer departed, Severus started plotting. Getting the Dursleys discredited as guardians would hopefully not be too difficult. Any inquiries about why he did nothing about the abuse before would not be too difficult to deflect either, since Black had been released well before the summer holidays. In that case, with Harry out of danger, keeping to the child's wishes would count for more than exposing the abuse would. But his own past would be difficult to overcome in getting appointed Harry's permanent guardian.

Severus' thoughts drifted to Albus, whose word would surely weigh heavy with the court. He didn't want to involve Albus in this. He still did not know how far he could trust Albus when it came to Harry, and if Albus should choose to speak against Severus getting guardianship, all would be lost. No, he would leave Albus out of his plans. The man would not be admitted to the guardianship hearing, whereas Severus would be, and only then would he make his intentions known to the world. It was the safest course.

Severus rolled up his left sleeve to reveal the faint Dark Mark that marred his flesh. Freedom he might have, but the taint of that mark would almost guarantee he would not be granted guardianship. Without someone as powerful as Albus Dumbledore backing him, he knew he stood virtually no chance. Covering the damning mark up again, Severus looked over at Harry. The boy had enough political clout to get whatever guardian he wanted; yet if Severus so much as breathed a word of his plans to the boy, the judges would call it manipulation, and he would not even be considered. So asking Harry to speak up on his behalf was out of the question as well. In fact, he couldn't even risk asking Harry if he wanted Severus as a guardian.

Severus snorted as he stood to get a blanket for Harry. It was a ridiculous question. Of course Harry would not want Severus as a guardian. The best he could hope for was that the child would not speak against him at the hearing. As he covered the sleeping child, Severus wondered how mad Minerva would be if he dragged her to the hearing as a character witness without telling her what it was about.

A pained murmur from Harry made Severus lose his train of thought. There wasn't anything he could do for the child to alleviate the pain, yet Severus pulled the blanket up a bit higher, hoping the warmth would help at least a little, and ran his hand softly down the boy's cheek. Harry settled down again, and Severus sat down in his chair, intent on keeping watch until the boy woke up.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

It was midmorning when the sound of his name being called woke Severus from his slumber. A quick look over at Harry showed the boy was still asleep, and Severus hurried to the hearth to prevent whomever was calling from waking the boy up.

"What?" Severus snarled, although he kept his voice down.

The woman whose face danced in the flames frowned at his tone.

"I'm Miranda Wobberwacky, Mister Potter's casewitch," she said. "Could I come through?"

Severus briefly closed his eyes. This woman would have a huge voice in the upcoming hearing, and already he'd made a bad impression. He gave her permission to come through and once she was, he apologized for his tone, explaining he'd been asleep. He didn't know if an apology would help, but at least it wouldn't hurt.

"I've brought some of Mister Potter's belongings," she said.

Severus had to make a conscious effort not to point out that it was rather obvious, considering she'd brought a trunk with the letters H.P. on it. She directed it down near a side table with her wand.

"Now," she said briskly. "I would like to talk to Mister Potter."

"He's still asleep from when the Healer spelled him yesterday," Severus said, pointing at the couch.

Severus hoped she wouldn't ask to wake Harry up. Not only did he want the child to sleep some more, but he also wanted to talk to Harry before she did. He didn't think Harry would really talk to a stranger, and he'd most likely clam up so tightly even Severus wouldn't get anything out of him.

"Ah, I see," the casewitch said. "Well, I'll be back sometime this week then. The hearing will be held next Friday, and I'll want to speak with him before that."

Severus nodded his consent. The casewitch turned to the Floo and was about to step into it when Severus had a thought.

"What about the press?" he asked. "Is there any way they could publish something about him, about this?"

"No," the casewitch said. "As he is a minor, our laws protect him. Nothing can be published about this case. Not that they would ever know about this, unless someone talks, of course."

The accusation was clear, but Severus refrained from defending himself. He had more important matters on his mind than trying to defend himself to someone who was never going to like him. As the casewitch left, Severus heaved a sigh. It looked like he would have one more person against him during the hearing.

Half an hour after the casewitch left, Harry woke up. He seemed momentarily confused as to where he was; but as soon as the child laid eyes on Severus, he remembered. Severus could see the knowledge and memories take hold, turning the confused gaze into a troubled one that was quickly averted.

"Harry, we need to talk about what happened," Severus said, knowing it wasn't going to be pleasant but had to be done.

Harry kept his eyes averted, staring intently at the blanket covering his legs. Severus sighed. He hadn't really expected this conversation to go easy, but he needed to know what had happened. Not only would it be better for Harry, but he couldn't risk being blindsided by anything during the hearing next week. He walked over to the couch and perched on the edge, placing his hand on Harry's.

"Harry, you need to tell me what happened," he said softly.

"He didn't mean to!" Harry blurted out, now looking straight at Severus with tears in his eyes. "He didn't!"

The pain in Harry's eyes and the anguish in his voice tore at Severus' heart, but he knew there was nothing he could say or do that would help. Still, he wanted to comfort the boy and drew him into his arms.

"Shhh, it's all right, just tell me what happened," Severus said softly.

Held tight against Severus' body, Harry told him about what had happened, all the while trembling uncontrollably. Severus squeezed his eyes shut as Harry related how Sirius had thought he was James Potter, his heart breaking at the pain in the boy's voice. When Harry told him how he got his injuries, Severus found it hard to breath even though he knew Harry was going to be just fine. Eventually, tale told and tears exhausted, Harry fell silent in his arms. Severus reluctantly let the boy go, easing him back into a prone position.

"What happens now?" Harry asked.

Severus sighed. He wished he could tell Harry about his plans, just to take the uncertainty out of the boy's eyes, but he couldn't. Besides, even with his plans, nothing was certain. All he could do was tell Harry what was happening right now.

"Your godfather was brought back to St. Mungo's," Severus said. "Because his attack was caused by an illness, he probably won't be persecuted for it. Especially since St. Mungo's clearly released him too early, missing all the signs."

Severus noticed Harry had started fidgeting, picking at the edge of his blanket with his fingers. He was also once again avoiding Severus' eyes.

"What is it?" he asked.

"I should've known," Harry whispered. "Every time I said something about being in Slytherin or mentioned Draco or Theo or even you, he would just, just ignore it. But I was just too happy he wasn't angry with me for not being like my father."

Severus sighed. No, Black had not been angry that Harry was nothing like his father, mainly because the man had clearly been deluding himself that Harry _was_ James Potter.

"That's easy to say in hindsight," Severus said. "Besides, I am sure that if Black had been in his right mind, he would've seen how much you're like your mother and been delighted."

"Really?" Harry asked.

"Yes," Severus said.

It was only half a lie. Harry really was very much like his mother. But Black probably wouldn't have been delighted; the man had been more Potter's friend than Lily's. In hindsight, Severus should've seen the symptoms of his delusions, too. The man had accepted all things Slytherin far too easily. But, like Harry, Severus had been too relieved with Black's attitude to question it.

"So what happens now?" Harry asked.

"I've been granted emergency guardianship of you at the moment, as your Head of House," Severus said. "So for the moment, you'll be staying here. The witch handling your case has already brought some of your belongings here."

"I get to stay here?" Harry asked in an awed voice.

Severus quirked a smile and suppressed the small, hopeful sting those words brought. Oh, how he wished he could unconditionally say _yes_ to that question. But the painful reality was that he couldn't and therefore shouldn't. Rule number one of dealing with abused children: don't make promises you can't keep.

"For now," Severus said. "There'll be a hearing next week to determine where you will stay until Black is able to care for you."

"Right," Harry said, looking down.

The boy looked lost and small and impossibly young. There was a quiet despair in the tense lines of his shoulders, and Severus wanted nothing more than to take that away.

"I won't let you go back to the Dursleys," he said.

He'd just broken his own rule, as he knew he couldn't promise that. Harry probably wouldn't speak up against them, and Severus had no proof whatsoever. If Severus wasn't believed, and there seemed to be a high chance of that, then Harry probably _would_ go back there. But the small, hopeful grin on Harry's face made the lie worth it.

Author's note: about Grimmauld Place being unplottable: the HP Lexicon says: "Unplottable: A magical effect on a place; makes it impossible to plot its location on a map." It says nothing about not being able to Floo there, so I took the artistic leeway JKR left and decided the Aurors could (and would) Floo there.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: this story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoat Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

**Chapter three: Guardianship Matters**

Harry's thoughts were in disarray after his conversation with Snape. He'd known something was wrong with Sirius, of course he had. The attack had been a dead giveaway. But Sirius back at St. Mungo's? A guardianship hearing? Being at Snape's house? It boggled his mind. But prevailing over all that was one panicked thought: what had happened to the locket?

It had taken Harry more than a week before he'd had a chance to look for it. His chance came when Sirius had left him to do some necessary shopping, while Harry had begged off in favor of doing homework. At least, that was what he'd told Sirius. The moment Sirius had gone, Harry started his hunt for Slytherin's locket. His greatest fear had been that the locket had been thrown away when Sirius had cleaned Grimmauld Place. The only reason the damn thing had survived the cleaning first time around was because Kreacher had hidden it. But Harry hadn't seen hide nor hair of Kreacher. He'd actually had the sneaking suspicion that Sirius had killed him. Under normal circumstances, that wouldn't have bothered Harry all that much, but he'd actually needed Kreacher alive so he could rescue the locket.

The first place Harry looked was in the small hidey-hole that was Kreacher's room. It was surprisingly neat and tidy, but there was no sign of Kreacher. Luckily for Harry, alongside the back wall there was a neat row of Black Family heirlooms. And third from the left was Slytherin's locket. With a sigh of relief, Harry wrapped it up in his handkerchief and pocketed it.

Later that day, Harry put it in his mostly empty trunk. He'd been meaning to find a better place to put it, but he was loath to leave the Horcrux behind when he went to Hogwarts. So in the end, he'd decided to leave it in his trunk. But Snape had said someone had packed his trunk and brought it over. Had they discovered the Horcrux? Had they perhaps recognized it as something Dark and confiscated it?

Panicked gnawed at Harry, clogging up his throat at the thought of maybe having lost a Horcrux. Snape must have sensed something of his inner turmoil, if the concerned gaze was anything to go by. But to Harry's great relief, the man didn't ask. Instead, Snape stood from where he'd been perched on the edge of the couch.

"I'm going to make us some breakfast," he said.

Harry nodded and waited until Snape had left the room. He'd already spotted his trunk, so as soon as he was alone, he stood from the couch to make his way over. He didn't even make it one step before bolts of pain laced through his body. He stifled a gasp, not wanting to alert Snape to the fact that he was up. Biting the pain away, Harry slowly made his way to his trunk. Once there, he gratefully sank to the floor, as his legs felt like he'd been hit with a Jelly-Legs Jinx. He threw open his trunk and began rooting through the contents. Clothes, books, his homework; they were all piled on top of each other, and there was no logic to the order in which they were packed. At the bottom, the items that had already been in the trunk became visible: the stack of letters from his mother that Snape had given him, the photo album Remus had given him, and his Invisibility Cloak. Harry felt inside the folds of the cloak and gave a sigh of relief as his fingers closed around the heavy, gold chain that was attached to the locket. He pulled it out of the trunk and gently ran his finger over the ornate serpentine S. The tingle in his finger reassured him that it was indeed the real Horcrux.

Just then, a small movement in the corner of his eye caught his attention. He tensed and turned his head. Snape was standing in the doorway that led to the kitchen, unfathomable black eyes watching Harry. Quickly, Harry closed his hand around the locket and pushed it back inside his trunk, once again hidden inside his folded Invisibility Cloak. When he looked up again, Snape was gone and the sound of pots and pans clanging could be heard, far louder than necessary. Harry smiled. If there was one thing he liked about Slytherins in contrast to Gryffindors, it would be this. They at least understood that secrets weren't meant to be shared.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHP

Snape's house wasn't big, but it had all the rooms that were necessary. The living room was tiny and dark, but the walls and even the doors were lined with books, which made up for a lot in Harry's mind. The kitchen wasn't big either, but it was big enough to house a table that seated four. Upstairs there were two modest bedrooms, one Snape's and the other one now Harry's, and a bathroom. But by far the best room in the house was the basement, which was a fully equipped potions lab.

Apart from the first day, which he'd spent ensconced in bed at Snape's insistence, Harry spent his days in the basement. In the mornings, Snape worked on replenishing the Hospital Wing's potions supply, and Harry watched as the Potions Master easily controlled three bubbling cauldrons at the same time. It was pure magic to see, and Harry was absolutely enthralled by it, much to Snape's amusement. In the afternoons, Snape continued Harry's lessons at Harry's insistence. The difficulty level and concentration it required enabled Harry to forget about the impending guardianship hearing and the visit of the casewitch that was supposed to happen sometime before that. Today though, it seemed Snape had other ideas.

"No working in the lab today," Snape told him over breakfast. "The weather's nice. You should go out and explore the neighborhood."

"I can just watch," Harry said. "I won't be in the way, I promise."

A slight smile played around Snape's lips, but to Harry's disappointment he still shook his head no.

"I'm not working in the lab today either," Snape said.

"I'll just read then," Harry said.

It wouldn't be as good as working on potions when it came to distracting him, but it would have to do. He felt guilty enough as it was, invading Snape's house and time like he did. He couldn't exactly go and beg the man for more lessons; after all, this was supposed to be a holiday for Snape as well.

"No, you need some sunlight," Snape said, nixing that plan. "Go out, explore the neighborhood, have some fun."

It seemed there was no getting around it. And he couldn't blame Snape for wanting some time alone. If Harry was surrounded by children for a whole school year, he would want some time without children around him during the summer holidays. Determined to give Snape a break from having to babysit him, Harry set out to explore the neighborhood after breakfast.

Even in the sunlight of an exceptionally beautiful summer's day the houses looked drab and rundown. As Harry walked around, he realized he was walking in the neighborhood where his mother had grown up. Looking at the decrepit state of it, he could understand why his Aunt Petunia was so obsessed with everything looking neat and nice. Of course, she took it way too far, but that was Aunt Petunia for you—or all the Dursleys, really. Moderation wasn't a word they were familiar with.

Harry stayed outside as long as he could, but when the thoughts of where he was going to go now that Sirius couldn't take care of him became too much, he returned home. Unfortunately, instead of the distraction he'd hoped to find, he found Miranda Wobberwacky, his casewitch, waiting for him. After introducing them, Snape ushered them into the kitchen before leaving Harry alone with her. Harry thought it was quite strategic of Snape, since the only way out of the kitchen was through the living room where Snape, Harry was sure, was standing guard.

"Now, Harry… I can call you Harry, can't I?" Miss Wobberwacky asked.

Harry had to suppress a wince at the casual use of his first name. He hated the fact that people in the Wizarding World thought they knew him just because they knew _of_ him. The fake familiarity was just as annoying as the open fawning. But he nodded politely. Not that it seemed to matter any, as Miss 'call me Miranda' Wobberwacky perkily chatted on.

"I'll be representing you at the guardianship hearing next week," she said. "I'll make sure you get the best guardian you can have until your godfather can take care of you again. Don't you worry!"

"Will I have a say?" Harry asked.

Miranda actually looked a bit surprised at the question.

"Oh, no, honey, you won't have to do a thing," she answered. "Just leave it to the grown-ups."

That statement set Harry's teeth on edge, and it was with gritted teeth that he listened to her detailing how the hearing was going to go. She asked some questions about his stay with Snape, and his answers seemed to satisfy her. After an agonizing minutes of conversation, she finally left him in peace.

Harry plunked his head down on the kitchen table with a groan, utterly frustrated with the whole guardianship thing, which was how Snape found him a few minutes later.

"Harry, are you all right?" Snape asked, sounding concerned.

"No," Harry moaned as he lifted his head to look at Snape. "May I kill her, please, sir?"

"No, you may not," Snape said sternly, but his lips twitched.

"Can I kill myself then?" Harry asked beseechingly.

Snape laughed while shaking his head.

"No, but if you truly find her so trying, try and do what I do when dealing with Ministry officials," Snape said. "Imagine all the ways in which they could accidentally kill themselves due to their stupidity."

Harry snorted out a surprised laugh.

"That could take a while," he said.

"Exactly," Snape said with a smirk.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHP

Seated next to Miranda, Harry listened with growing horror to the panel of five judges. Aurors and Healers had given testimonies about Sirius Black, and the judges had unanimously decided that at the current time, he was not fit as a guardian. Harry couldn't help but agree. But the real problem came with deciding who would be his new guardian. The judges were actually discussing placing him back with the Dursleys! And Miranda, who was supposed to have _his_ best interests in mind, was all for it.

Harry looked over at where Snape and McGonagall were seated, hoping to catch Snape's eyes. The man had promised him he wouldn't be returned to the Dursleys, so why didn't he do something? But Snape kept looking straight ahead, not even glancing in Harry's direction. Disheartened, he refocused his attention on the judges.

"And seeing as there is no other viable alternative…" the oldest of the judges droned.

"Actually, Lord Arynn," Snape interrupted. "There is an alternative guardian—one who can offer Mister Potter a stable home until such a time that Sirius Black is able to return to his guardianship duties. A guardian who already has a bond of trust with Mister Potter and who, unlike Mister Potter's aunt, has magic. This placement will therefore ensure that Mister Potter will not be cut off from his parents' legacy, our world, again."

Harry looked at Snape, who'd delivered his passionate speech standing up, hope blossoming in his chest. Then his gaze fell upon McGonagall, still seated next to Snape. Was she the guardian Snape had in mind?

"Well, Professor Snape, that sounds reasonable, " the obese judge said. "Who might this possible guardian be?"

"Me," Snape said.

For a few seconds, the courtroom was utterly silent as everyone, Harry included, gaped at Snape in surprise. Then pandemonium broke out, with everyone talking at the same time and getting increasingly louder as they tried to make themselves heard over everyone else.

"Preposterous!" the obese judge bellowed.

"But his aunt is his family," Miranda wailed from her seat next to Harry.

"He's a Death Eater," another judge shouted.

"Professor Snape is an honorable man," McGonagall said in a loud voice.

"Murderer!" the one female judge shrieked.

"Does the word spy mean anything to you?" Snape shouted back.

Accusations were flying around, there was screaming and shouting, and Harry even saw Snape's wand hand twitch, although he fortunately had enough self-control not to draw his wand. And amidst it all, nobody had even looked at Harry, let alone asked him what he wanted.

"Shut up!" Harry screamed, jumping up from his seat, his fists balled. "Just shut up!"

The sudden silence was almost deafening in its intensity, and for a moment Harry thought he'd actually made them realize they needed to listen to him. He soon realized the real situation though, as the eldest judge glared at him, motioning frantically while his mouth moved without sound. He'd Silenced everyone in the courtroom but himself in a bout of accidental magic. Out of habit, he reached for his wand to undo the spell, but he stopped himself when he realized this would be his only chance to be heard.

"I'm sorry but if I undo the spell, you'll stop listening again," he said.

The judges were all frowning, but a quick glance at Snape showed that the man had taken a seat. He had his arms folded in front of his chest, but there was also a smug smile on his face. As Harry caught his eyes, Snape gave him a small nod. Bolstered by Snape's tacit approval, Harry turned back to the judges.

"Everybody is talking about where I should go, but nobody asked me what I want," he said, after turning back to the judges. "I don't want to go back to the Dursleys. Why would I? They hate magic, and they hate me. If anybody had _asked_ me, I could've told them that."

Harry took a deep breath. He had never wanted to discuss the Dursleys and their treatment, but knew he had to. It didn't make it any easier to admit out loud that the only real family he had left hated him. He snuck another glance at Snape, who was perhaps the only one in the courtroom who didn't look shocked. The man had known, had perhaps known more than Harry had previously thought, but strangely enough Harry didn't mind.

"Professor Snape is right. He can provide me with a home. He's done so for the past week and a half. I have my own room, I get three meals a day, and he even sends me outside to play because he says I need the sunlight," Harry continued. "I trust him a lot more than other people. I've told him more than anyone else, including Sirius. And what he didn't say is that he was friends with my mum. In fact, he was the one who warned my parents that they were targeted by Voldemort."

Everyone in the courtroom except Harry winced as he spoke Voldemort's name, but Harry took no notice of it. Another quick glance over at Snape showed the man looking at him with wide eyes. Harry knew he'd surprised the man, and he hoped that the surprise would keep him from asking where exactly Harry had gotten that knowledge.

"If it wasn't for Pettigrew's betrayal, Professor Snape's warning would've saved my parents' lives. I know you all look at him and see just the Dark Mark on his arm. But when I look at him, I see a brave man who did what he had to in order to defeat the darkest wizard our world has faced in recent memory. And instead of praising him, you condemn him!"

Harry took a shaky breath as he tried to calm down. Memories of the war, pieces of the puzzle that had been Snape's life, carefully reconstructed by Hermione after the man's demise, it all came to the forefront of his mind when talking about this. But if he wanted to have any chance to go home with Snape, something he found himself wanting to very much, he needed to keep his head in the game.

"Nobody asked me what I wanted. But if they'd asked, I would've told them I want Severus Snape to be my guardian," Harry said.

Harry fell silent after that, waiting for a response. It was only after half a minute and a few gestures from the oldest judge, this time with a teasing smile on his face, that Harry remembered he'd Silenced everyone. He quickly reversed it, blushing madly in embarrassment.

"Thank you, Mister Potter," the oldest judge said after he'd regained the ability to speak. "Let me first say that we are sorry you felt so unheard your magic reacted in this way to remedy the situation. Furthermore, I think I speak for all of us," he gestured to his fellow judges, "when I say that we will under no circumstance send you back to your aunt."

Harry blew out a relieved breath and shot a grin towards Snape, who smiled back briefly. The man was still tense though, reminding Harry that the most important decision had yet to come.

"As for the matter of appointing Severus Snape as your guardian, I think, in light of your passionate speech, young man, that we will approve Severus Snape's guardianship until such a time as when Sirius Black is recovered enough to be granted custody of you once again," the judge finished.

Harry let out a whoop of joy, making both Snape and McGonagall chuckle and most of the judges smile. Miranda didn't look too happy, but Harry really couldn't care. After giving Snape a quick hug, which the man returned much to Harry's surprise, he was left to make some polite small talk with McGonagall while Snape took care of the necessary paperwork. Ten minutes later, they were ready to leave.

"Floo to Grimmauld Place," Snape said as they reached the public Floos in the Ministry's atrium. "We'll collect the rest of your things."

Harry tumbled out of the fireplace in the drawing room with Snape not far behind him. But Harry wasn't taking any notice of the man at all, because all he had eyes for was the damaged room. During Sirius' attack, Harry had been too busy defending himself to take notice of it, but now he could clearly see the ravage the duel left behind. There were scorch marks on the walls and carpet, one of the sofas had a hole in it, two windows were cracked, and the table was nothing but a pile of rubble.

Harry startled as Snape put his hand on Harry's shoulder.

"Are you all right?" Snape asked.

Harry nodded and wordlessly led Snape to his room. There really wasn't much to pack anymore, just some clothes that had gotten left behind, Hedwig's cage and owl treats, and his broom. There was only one problem: his broom was nowhere to be found. He and Snape looked for it all over the house, and Harry eventually found it in pieces in the backyard. The broom, or what was left of it, reminded him a bit of his relationship with Sirius, and he wondered if it was possible to mend the damage.

"He must have used your broom to try and escape the Aurors," Snape said, kneeling next to Harry. "It doesn't look like it's fixable. I'm sorry."

"Doesn't matter," Harry said with a shrug.

And really, it didn't. Brooms were replaceable, after all. And it was not the first time a gift from Sirius ended up in pieces. But Harry couldn't help but wonder if it was some sort of sign.

HPHPHPHPHPHP

The morning after the hearing, Harry woke up in what was now officially his room. Hedwig, sitting in her open cage on the desk, hooted a soft greeting at him as he got up. After getting dressed, Harry made his way downstairs for breakfast. When he got to the kitchen, he realized Snape wasn't alone. Dumbledore was there, as well, and the atmosphere was tense.

"Ah, Harry," Dumbledore said when he saw him. "How are you today?"

"I'm not going back to the Dursleys," Harry blurted out in lieu of a greeting.

From the way neither man acted surprised by Harry's outburst, it seemed he had been right about the reason for Dumbledore's visit.

"Now, my boy, I understand you might not be perfectly happy at your aunt's, but surely in light of …" Dumbledore began.

"Not perfectly happy?" Harry shouted, interrupting Dumbledore. "They beat me! They starved me and made me work like a slave, and if there wasn't any work, they'd lock me up in the cupboard under the stairs!"

Harry had tears running down his cheeks while he shouted out all the anguish he'd never voiced before. Dumbledore looked aghast by his outburst, while Snape had a dark look on his face that Harry now knew him well enough to identify as equal parts angry and concern.

"And it's all your fault!" Harry continued, although it was now more of a hoarse whisper than a shout. "You left me there."

Dumbledore had been getting paler and paler during Harry's speech, and he was now looking like he might be sick. Harry couldn't care less about Dumbledore, as he was choking on his sobs. Suddenly, he found himself engulfed in Snape's arms.

"I think you should leave, Headmaster," Snape said in an icy whisper.

Harry didn't hear Dumbledore reply, but the distant sound of the Floo indicated he'd heeded Snape's words. For a long time, Harry let his tears flow in the safety of Snape's embrace. In the original timeline, Harry had never spoken about the Dursleys' treatment of him, not even when Hermione had pressed him about it. It felt liberating to talk about it now, but it also hurt and brought back all of Harry's old insecurities. But Snape standing by him, _wanting_ him, that helped a lot.

Eventually, Harry calmed down and withdrew from Snape's arms, feeling a little embarrassed.

"Thanks, Professor," he mumbled with warm cheeks.

"I think, considering I am now your guardian and it's the summer holidays, you can call me Severus," Snape said. "Now, how about we have some breakfast? There's a lot of brewing on the program for today, I believe."

Harry smiled and sat down at the table as Snape, no, Severus, started on breakfast. He might not quite know how a normal household was run, only having experienced the abuse of the Dursleys and the craziness of the Weasleys, but Harry imagined it would be very much like this.

But the plans to start brewing after breakfast had to be put on hold as another visitor arrived, just as Severus was putting away the last of the dishes he'd cleaned. This time it was Remus, and Harry steeled himself for the man's reaction, knowing the history there was between Severus and the Marauders. He was expecting a lot of things, but not the crushing hug the man gave him.

"Oh, Harry, I am so sorry," Remus said.

Harry tensed slightly in the man's embrace. Sure, most people he knew wouldn't be jumping for joy about Severus being his guardian, but coming right out and saying you're sorry was a bit much—especially when the man was standing right there.

"I should've noticed," Remus rambled on, still hugging him. "If I'd only…I would've seen it. I would've stopped him before he could hurt you."

Harry was thoroughly confused now. Severus hurting him? Where was Remus getting this? He withdrew from the hug, and Remus let him go, if a bit reluctantly.

"What are you talking about, Remus?" Harry asked.

A momentary flash of surprise crossed Remus' face before it became contrite again.

"Why, Sirius of course," Remus said. "If I'd just visited more, I would've seen something was wrong with him. I never would have let it come this far. But I wanted to give the two of you some time together."

Understanding flooded Harry. Remus was feeling guilty, an emotion Harry was quite familiar with. But it was misplaced in this instance.

"It's not like I realized anything either, and I lived with him," Harry said with a shrug.

"He's right, Lupin, nobody noticed, not even the staff of St. Mungo's," Severus said. "So stop the self-pity."

Remus gave a slight grin and sat down at the kitchen table, evidently intending to stay for a while. Severus gave him a sneer.

"I suppose you want tea?" he asked snidely.

"That would be lovely, Severus, thank you," Remus replied kindly.

As Severus made tea for all of them, Remus turned his attention back to Harry.

"So, how are you doing?" he asked.

Harry grinned.

"Great," he said. "Severus has been letting me use his lab to brew potions."

"Yes," Severus said as he placed a cup of tea in front of Remus and another one in front of Harry. "I'm thinking I should put him to work, have him help me with the potions for the Hospital Wing."

"Sure, use me as cheap labour," Harry quipped.

Remus chuckled, but Severus just raised an eyebrow, the look in his eyes promising copious amounts of talking in Harry's future. Harry gave him a small smile, while Remus started telling an anecdote about a Potions exam that had gone terribly wrong due to a prank. Maybe talking wouldn't be so bad, if it was with the right person.

HPHPHPHPHPHP

Summer went on, and it was arguably one of the most pleasant summers Harry had ever had. With enough food, being able to do his homework, spending his afternoons either brewing, reading, or walking around the neighborhood, and no abuse, it should have been a carefree summer. But it wasn't, because there were two big concerns weighing heavily on Harry's mind.

The first one was that although he had frequent contact with Hermione and Theo, he had not heard anything from Draco since the holidays began. He had not even received a reply to the letter he'd sent to all three of his friends, telling them about Sirius' delusions and that Severus was now his guardian. Knowing now what he did about Draco's home life, he was quite worried about his friend.

The second problem he had concerned the Horcrux diary. Harry had planned to snag it in Diagon Alley after Lucius Malfoy had given it to Ginny, but he had soon realized that might be easier said than done. Without his friendship with Ron, he had no idea how he was going to convince Severus they had to go to Diagon Alley on the fifteenth of August and no other day. And if he couldn't convince Severus to go on the same day the Weasleys would be there, Harry was going to have to figure out a way to sneak into Gryffindor tower _and_ up to the girl's dormitory—not something he wanted to attempt.

In the end, Severus unknowingly solved both of Harry's problems by proclaiming they were meeting Lucius and Draco in Diagon Alley on the fifteenth. To Harry it seemed like Luck was finally on his side. He only hoped it would continue to be.

The plan was to meet Lucius and Draco in front of Gringotts. So after taking the Floo to the Leaky Cauldron, Severus and Harry made their way there along the winding, cobbled street. Harry was dressed in a light summer robe because, according to Severus, Harry was a role model in Wizarding society whether or not he wanted to be. So he should always act and look like an upstanding Wizard. Harry didn't mind, though. The robes made him blend in a bit more, and he hoped he'd be able to avoid any fans.

By the time they reached Gringotts, Lucius and Draco were already waiting for them. They, too, were decked out in wizarding robes, although a bit dressier than the ones Harry and Severus were wearing. Both blonds were looking particularly pale, and Harry saw that Draco was standing stiffly. Harry stifled a worried sigh and instead smiled and greeted them as if nothing was wrong. He knew better than to ask personal questions in such a public venue.

"Mister Malfoy, I wanted to thank you once again for your help," Harry said. "I'm very glad you helped Sirius get a trial."

"You're quite welcome, Harry," Lucius said. "I am just sorry that it didn't work out better for you."

Harry felt somewhat uncomfortable talking to Lucius Malfoy like this, remembered hurts that had not yet come to pass making it a bit awkward. But Harry also realized that he was talking with Lucius Malfoy, Draco's father and not with Lucius Malfoy, Death Eater. So he pushed his unease away and mustered up a smile.

"That's all right," Harry said. "Sirius is getting the help he needs right now, and I've got Severus."

"You do indeed," Lucius said.

With that it seemed the conversation was over, much to Harry's relief. After a brief moment of quiet conversation between Lucius and Severus, the men granted Draco and Harry the freedom to roam around Diagon Alley for two hours. They agreed to meet up at Flourish & Blotts. Severus pressed a couple of Gallons in Harry's hand as pocket money. Harry took it without comment, having had the whole argument about money that morning. He'd lost it, having to concede that Severus, as Harry's guardian, was responsible for paying for everything Harry might need. He was not to touch the money in his vault, because according to Severus, if Harry wanted something he should come to him, and Severus would then decide if it was something Harry should have. It had been quite a shock to realize that with Severus he not only had a good guardian but that he would lose some of the freedom he'd gotten used to. It was worth it though.

Draco and Harry went off on their own, leaving the two adult wizards to their conversation. They took their time peering in the windows of the shops and talked about everything and nothing. Draco didn't say a word about never writing, and Harry didn't ask, but he did notice the blond boy moved rather gingerly. Harry couldn't help but wonder how many injuries Draco's light blue robe hid. That train of thought had him thinking about Lucius Malfoy again. If Draco was this injured, Lucius must be as well. Harry briefly entertained the thought of trying to get Lucius Malfoy on his side, but then he discarded the idea. No, he might be able to save Draco from becoming a Death Eater, but it was far too late for Lucius Malfoy.

At Draco's insistence, they bought pumpkin-and-chocolate ice creams at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor, which were surprisingly good, and they spent a good half-hour in Quality Quidditch Supplies gaping at all the equipment.

"Are you going to try out for the team this year?" Draco asked him as they were examining brooms.

"I don't know," Harry said. "My broom's busted, and I doubt Severus will let me buy anything so expensive."

"Hey, my Dad bought me a new broom for my birthday. You can borrow my old one for try-outs and stuff," Draco said enthusiastically. "Come on, we should both try out! I'm sure we're good enough to get on the team."

Harry laughed and agreed to at least try out for the team. To be honest, he missed flying—missed the exhilaration caused by chasing after the Snitch and catching it.

With twenty minutes left before they had to meet up with Lucius and Severus, the boys decided that the last stop they were going to make was Gambol and Japes Wizarding Joke Shop. Harry was having great fun trying out several different fake wands, some of which turned into rubber animals, while others just puffed out multi-colored smoke, when the door opened again and the Weasley twins came walking in together with Lee Jordan. Seeing them made Harry aware of the task that awaited him at Flourish and Blotts, and he suddenly had butterflies in his stomach. He quietly made his way over to where Draco was examining a box of Dungbombs.

"Come on, let's go to Flourish and Blotts," Harry said. "I want some time there to look around, and I don't think Severus will be patient enough for that."

Draco snorted.

"Yeah, right, you've met the man, right?" he said. "Reading comes second only after brewing."

"Yeah, well, I get the feeling he wouldn't have much patience for me browsing the Quidditch section," Harry argued.

"Point," Draco conceded.

Together, the boys made their way to Flourish & Blotts. When they got there, there was a large, jostling crowd outside the doors. Harry's eyes caught the banner stretched across the upper windows of the shop, proclaiming that Gilderoy Lockhart was signing copies of his new book. He groaned in misery. With his attention so focused on being at Flourish & Blotts to intercept the diary, he'd totally forgotten that Lockhart would be there too.

"Let's forget about looking at the books and just get in, gather our books, pay as soon as your father and Severus get there, and get out," Harry said. "I do _not_ want to end up in the papers, or worse, in front of that crowd."

"Yeah," Draco said, eyeing the crowd apprehensively. "In and out without being spotted, right there with you."

They pushed through the crowd to get inside the store, where there was a little more room to move, as most people where standing in the long line that wound right to the back of the shop. With everyone's attention focused on the place where Lockhart had just appeared, all flashy colors and dazzling white smile, nobody paid any attention to Harry and Draco, much to the boy's relief.

Draco pulled out the booklist, and they quickly went to work on getting a copy for each of them of every book on the list. They were halfway down the list when Harry saw a short, irritable-looking man with a camera pushing his way through the crowd. Remembering him all too well, Harry quickly pulled Draco between two high stacks of Gilderoy Lockhart's newest book, hiding them from sight. Draco gave him a questioning look but was thankfully smart enough not to say anything.

"Make way, make way, this is for _The Daily Prophet,_" the man called out, and Harry shrank back into the shadows a little more.

After a few seconds, Draco peered around the stacks.

"Nobody with a camera in sight," he said to Harry. "That guy's probably at the front of the crowd by now."

"Thanks," Harry whispered.

Draco gave him a small smile. Not wanting their luck to run out, the boys quickly gathered the rest of the books on the list. Draco was just grabbing the last book they needed when Harry saw Severus and Lucius shoulder their way into the store. Both wizards had a sneer on their face as they surveyed the crowd. Harry wanted to wave at them to get their attention, but he had his hands full of books, so that wasn't an option. But Severus had already spotted him, and the two men made their way over to Harry.

"Where's Draco?" Lucius asked.

"Here, Dad," Draco said from behind his father

He handed one of the books in his hands to Harry, causing the rest of his stack to topple precariously. But before any books could fall to the floor, Lucius relieved his son from his burden. Severus took Harry's books out of his hands.

"Stay here," he said. "We'll pay for this, and then we will vacate this madhouse."

Lucius and Severus hadn't been gone for more than half a minute when Harry heard a familiar cacophony of voices behind him. He turned around to see Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, along with Ron, Ginny, the twins, and Percy. Unfortunately, Ron had spotted them as well. With a disgusted look on his face, he made his way over to them.

"Well, well, if it isn't famous Harry Potter, the traitor," Ron sneered. "And look, your little lapdog is with you."

Harry suppressed a flinch at the hateful words that spewed out of the mouth of his one time friend. He wondered if he'd known Ron at all, because he couldn't remember the friend he'd had being quite so vicious.

"I'm surprised to see you in a shop, Weasley," Draco retorted. "I suppose your parents will go hungry for a month in order to pay for your books."

Ron flushed in anger. Harry was abruptly conscious of the fact that he had once stood on the other side of this argument. It had to be one of the weirder moments he'd encountered since traveling back in time.

"Oh, that's right," Draco continued with a sneer. "They're already going hungry just feeding their litter. You'd think being a disgrace to the name of wizard would pay better."

That last insult was apparently too much for Ron, and he flew at Draco, smashing into him with a roar. They crashed into a bookcase, causing several books to tumble down upon them, but neither boy took any notice of that. Ginny shrieked something unintelligible, and all of a sudden Lucius and Severus were there, as well as Mr. and Mrs. Weasley.

In the chaos, Harry took his chance. Ginny had left her cauldron filled with books on the floor and while everyone's attention was on Draco and Ron, who'd been pulled apart by Mr. Weasley and Lucius, who'd taken over the arguing their sons had begun, Harry had no problems pulling the diary out from between the other books. Severus, who'd pressed the bag with Harry's books in his hands before wading into the melee of Weasleys, was busy trying to keep Lucius and Mr. Weasley from getting into a fistfight themselves and was paying no attention to Harry. Quickly, he put the diary in between the other books in his bag. He was just in time, too, as Severus beckoned him to go outside.

Once outside, the first thing Severus did was ascertain that Harry was all right. Harry reassured the man he was fine. But the fight had thoroughly spoiled the mood of both older wizards, so after some hasty goodbyes, Severus and Harry set out for home. Lucius and Draco only had to visit Madam Malkins before they could go home as well. Harry thought it was probably more an excuse to stay away from Narcissa as long as they could than the fact that they absolutely had to go there. It hadn't escaped Harry's attention that after that tumble into the bookcase, courtesy of Ron, Draco was walking even more stiffly, and he clearly favored his right side. From the dark look on Severus' face, he hadn't missed it either. And although Harry had a second Horcrux in his possession now, it was difficult to be happy when his friend was so obviously injured.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: this story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoat Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

**Chapter Four: When Plans Go Haywire**

The day after the rather eventful trip to Diagon Alley, Severus sent Harry out to play after lunch with the explicit instruction not to be back before five o'clock. The child went without much protest, although Severus heard him grumbling about unhealthy obsessions with sunlight. He had to suppress a smile at that, as it was exactly what he himself had said on occasion when Albus once again kicked him out of his lab.

Thinking about Albus sobered him. The argument he'd had with the older wizard before Harry had come down and interrupted them had mainly been a back and forth about what was best for Harry. Albus had argued for returning Harry to the guardianship of the Dursleys. Severus had steadfastly refused without offering an explanation, believing Harry deserved his privacy. Of course, he hadn't counted on Harry overhearing and then blowing up at Albus, revealing far more about the Dursleys in the process than he'd meant to, Severus was sure. Albus hadn't taken the information well, nor had he taken Severus' dismissal well. Severus knew that sending Albus away had hurt the man deeply, but at the time, all Severus was concerned with was comforting Harry, a Harry who seemed to know far more than Severus had thought. He'd surprised Severus twice: once at the hearing with his knowledge of Severus' activities during the war and now with his knowledge that it was Albus who'd placed him with his aunt. Severus just hoped that whoever was telling the child all this would never reveal that it was Severus who'd caused the Dark Lord to go after the Potters.

The whoosh of the Floo pulled Severus from his thoughts as Lucius stepped through. He was impeccably dressed as always and had brought his ornate cane with him. Severus' sharp eyes noticed that Lucius placed a great deal of weight on it today, actually using it instead of carrying it as a decorative piece. He quickly waved his friend into a chair.

"You're worse than yesterday," Severus remarked bluntly.

"After that tousle, Draco couldn't take much more," Lucius said in reply to the unasked question.

Severus nearly had to bite is tongue to keep from making any comments. He would have done the same for a child who was his. Besides that, he knew Lucius wouldn't appreciate anything that even remotely looked like pity, which in the man's eyes included compassion and a helping hand. Not for the first time, Severus cursed Lucius' pride. If not for that, he could've helped his friend years before.

"Everything went according to plan?" Severus asked instead, changing the subject.

"Yes," Lucius replied. "I slipped the diary in between the books of the Weasley girl. She'll surely tell her father about it."

"That's good," Severus said.

In fact, Lucius couldn't have picked out a better person to give the diary to. A lot of things could be said about Arthur Weasley, but the man was firmly against the Dark Lord, which was exactly what they needed.

"I will keep an eye on Arthur," Lucius said. "I imagine he'll want to keep it quiet to protect the girl, but the moment he hands the thing in, I will know about it."

Severus nodded in agreement. He didn't doubt his friend's words for a moment. Lucius, having given his report, stood to leave. Severus stopped him with a softly spoken question.

"What do I need to prepare for when Draco gets back to Hogwarts?"

Lucius stiffened slightly, unnoticeable if you didn't know the man as well as Severus did.

"Nothing," he answered. "I will heal him before he gets on the train."

After these words, Lucius disappeared through the Floo. Severus heaved a sigh. Yes, Lucius would heal Draco, but at what cost to himself?

HPHPHPHPHPHP

Severus shook his head in resignation as Harry frantically ran up the stairs for the third time that morning.

"I thought you'd packed your trunk last night," he called out after the boy.

"I did," Harry shouted from upstairs.

"And yet, we are still not leaving," Severus mumbled sarcastically to himself.

He truly did not understand why Harry was still running to and fro for things that needed to come with him to Hogwarts. Yesterday's panic he could understand. He'd ordered Harry to pack his trunk after breakfast to avoid this exact situation where at the last minute things got packed and even more things got forgotten. But when he'd gone to check on him an hour later, he'd found a panicked child and a trunk filled to bursting.

"What is going on?" Severus asked.

"It doesn't fit anymore," Harry answered almost in tears.

Severus looked at the full trunk, then over at the bed, which was still filled with all kinds of things. Amongst the clothes that were piled there, most of them the new wizarding wardrobe Severus had bought for Harry, were other things that had been newly acquired: books, games, Quidditch gloves for when Harry tried out for the Slytherin team, and his second pair of new boots.

"Why in the name of Merlin does it look like you are packing your whole room?" Severus asked, baffled.

"What else would I do with it?" Harry asked.

"How about leave it here?" Severus said a bit impatiently.

Then he caught the look of weary resignation on Harry's face as the child began to sort through the things on the bed, making two distinct piles. Severus briefly closed his eyes in sorrow as he realized that one of the piles contained all of Harry's new things and the other one his old things.

"Harry, stop that," Severus said softly, stepping over to the child. "That's not what I meant."

Harry stopped his sorting and turned to look at Severus with confusion clearly written on his face.

"These things, all of them, are yours to keep," Severus said. "All I meant was that you don't need to bring everything with you to Hogwarts. Leave some of your clothes here, the books from last year, and things you will not need at Hogwart's like Hedwig's cage. She can easily fly to Hogwarts and stay in the owlery."

"But what about the rest?" Harry asked.

"It can stay here, in _your_ room," Severus answered.

Realization flooded Harry's face, and Severus gave him a smile before leaving the room. By the time Harry joined him for lunch, his trunk was packed. At least, that was what he'd told Severus. But the evidence suggested otherwise.

"Harry, hurry up," Severus shouted. "We need to leave or you'll miss the train!"

Stomping could be heard as Harry ran down the stairs, and a few seconds later he skidded to a halt in front of his trunk, threw the lid open, and dumped another book in it before closing the lid again.

"Ready?" Severus asked with a raised eyebrow.

Harry nodded. Severus waved his wand to lighten the trunk and then floated it behind him as he made his way to the back yard. It wasn't a large garden, but the high fence around it made them invisible to their neighbors' peering eyes. He put the trunk down then waved Harry closer.

"Grab my hand and your trunk," Severus said.

Harry followed his orders, and with a last warning to hold on tight, Severus Apparated them onto Platform nine and three quarters.

The platform was bustling with activity, and Severus found it odd to be there. He'd never expected to bring a child there on the first of September, but he found himself rather liking it. For one wistful moment, he allowed himself to pretend Harry was _his_, instead of a temporary ward. But it was an impossible dream, and he knew it. Sirius would most likely regain his full mental health and retake custody of Harry, which was how it should be.

"I'll see you at school," Severus said.

Harry grinned at him, a mischievous smile that made Severus suspicious. He wasn't fast enough, however, to prevent the child from hugging him. And while he grumbled under his breath about Harry ruining his reputation, he hugged the child back.

"See you at the feast, Professor," Harry said as he withdrew from the hug.

Severus watched as Harry took his trunk and stepped into the waiting train. He kept on watching as the clock struck eleven and the train started moving. He was still watching when the train disappeared from sight. With a sigh, Severus resolutely turned his back on the direction the train had chugged off in and Apparated to Hogwarts.

HPHPHPHPHPHP

The Sorting yielded eight first-year students for Slytherin, which wasn't too bad. As the meal began, Severus took time to look his snakes over. He paid special attention to the problem children, those who Severus knew were experiencing trouble of some kind. Some of them were more jittery or withdrawn than they had been before the summer holidays, but that was to be expected. He'd only step in when they didn't show any marked improvement at the end of the week.

While Irma nattered on about the new additions she had acquired for the library, Severus focused his attention on Harry, who was sitting with Theodore and Draco as usual. The three boys were in deep discussion, and it looked to be a quite serious one as well. And while discussions were quite normal, serious talk was rare during the Welcoming Feast. It was even more suspicious that the three of them sat a distance away from the rest of the house and kept their voices low.

Severus ran through the topics they could be discussing in his head. Harry's change of guardianship could be one; but knowing Hermione Granger, that topic had probably been discussed during the train ride. Perhaps they were talking about Theodore's home situation, but from what Severus knew of the boy's reticence in talking about that even in a private setting, he doubted it. The same could be said for Draco's home situation.

The matter became even more puzzling when Harry pulled a packet of parchment out of his pocket and the three boys started reading through the papers, foregoing their dessert in favor of whatever was written down there. That, more than anything, made Severus sure his kids were brewing up trouble.

The moment the meal ended, the parchments were hastily shoved at Harry and put away. Severus saw Harry give a nod to Hermione over at the Gryffindor table, which made the hair on his neck stand up. If the entire foursome was in on whatever it was that they were planning, Severus definitely needed to find out what it was. He stood from the Head Table to make his way down to the boys when Albus called out his name, stopping him in his tracks.

"Perhaps I can offer you some tea in my office?" Albus said.

While Albus looked and sounded unconcerned, Severus knew better. And he couldn't deny that he missed the old man's friendship. This summer had been the first time since he'd started working at Hogwarts that Albus had not visited or contacted him, apart from the one disastrous visit after the guardianship hearing. Angry as he sometimes was with Albus' ideas and plans, the old wizard was the closest thing Severus had to a family. He could not deny the man's cautious attempt at repairing their friendship.

"Very well," Severus said. After a last look at the retreating backs of Harry and his friends, he followed Albus up to his office.

Albus silently poured some tea for the both of them. The lack of small talk made it abundantly clear that Albus really wasn't sure about how welcoming Severus was feeling. Severus decided to take pity on the man.

"Just spit it out, Albus," he said.

"I didn't know," Albus said warily. "I truly didn't know that Harry had such a hard life. I knew he might not have a very happy life, that his aunt might not love him as she should have, but abuse? No, I never knew that. If I had, I never would have left him there."

Although Albus looked sad and old while he said it, there was a hard glint in his eyes that spoke of his anger towards the Dursleys. Severus relaxed back in his chair, relieved that Albus was at least innocent of putting the child in harm's way on purpose.

"So you see why I did what I did?" Severus asked.

"Yes, I do indeed," Albus said.

"And yet, you still don't approve," Severus said, well used to reading the subtle signs the older wizard gave of his mood and thoughts.

Albus sighed and took a sip of his tea. He stared into his teacup for a long time, as if he could divine his thoughts of the subject in the liquid. When he looked up, his gaze was troubled but affectionate.

"It is not so much that I do not approve of you as a guardian," he said slowly, seemingly choosing his words with great care. "It is more the fact that it is Harry you are the guardian of. Now that Voldemort has returned, you're facing enough danger as it is. Before you became Harry's guardian, you might have convinced him of your loyalty, but it would seem impossible now."

Severus snorted. Impossible indeed. As Harry's guardian and a traitor, he'd be placed directly under Harry on the Dark Lord's hitlist. Only Albus might be above him, but even that was doubtful.

"It does not really matter, Albus," he said. "The Dark Lord's specter saw me when I was defending the Stone. He would not have forgiven me for that, especially not with the suspicion I already faced as a reported spy."

Albus conceded the point by changing the subject, and just like that, it was as if their argument had never happened. They exchanged some news and talked about the upcoming school year. It was during a discussion on the amount of homework Severus gave his classes that Albus brought up a point Severus had not even thought about.

"You cannot grade Harry's work anymore."

"Oh, drat," Severus said. "I hadn't even thought about that. What are we going to do?"

"Don't worry, my boy," Albus said. "I've already arranged everything. Horace Slughorn will grade Harry's work; all you need to do is owl it to him."

Severus nodded his thanks. It seemed that it didn't matter how well Severus planned things, Albus was always one step ahead of him. It was something Severus found immensely comforting at times, even though he would never admit it.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

The first week of the school year had been busy as usual, but it also felt rewarding as Severus reconnected with all of his students. The only thing out of the ordinary was Harry, Draco, Theodore, and Hermione's behavior. Severus had seen them huddled together several times that week, talking for a few minutes, exchanging parchments, and then breaking up again to go to their respective classes or common rooms.

As he walked down the hall after his last class of that week, he saw the foursome walking towards an unused corridor. They were walking close together, and each of them had what appeared to be a full book bag with him or her, even though he knew they didn't have any classes on Friday afternoon. Determined to find out just what they were planning, he started to follow them from a distance.

"Ah, Severus, I'm glad to see you," Lupin said, suddenly standing in front of him as the man stepped out of his classroom.

Severus gritted his teeth as Lupin started talking to him about Harry's performance in class. Normally he didn't mind talking about his Slytherins with other teachers, especially when the news was positive. And Severus didn't mind admitting, at least to himself, that he had a slight bias towards Harry, which was perfectly understandable under the circumstances. After all, for all intents and purposes, Harry was currently his child. But today, at the moment, he didn't have the time for it.

"Not now, Lupin," he snarled.

Without waiting to see how the man would react to the brush-off, Severus stepped around Lupin and strode off towards the corridor the children had disappeared in. But as he had feared, when he got there it was all ready too late. The children were out of sight, and there was no way he was going to find them now.

"But Severus, I really do think we should talk about Harry's performance," Lupin said, having followed him. "He is quite good at Defense Against the Dark Arts, and I am thinking about giving him some extra work, but I do not want to overwhelm him. I know he's been getting extra Potions work from you. And as you are his guardian, I felt…"

"Yes, yes, fine," Severus said. "We'll talk."

"Splendid," Lupin said, far too cheerful in Severus' opinion. "Why don't we go to my quarters and talk over a nice cup of tea?"

Severus sighed but followed Lupin. Being a good guardian was shaping up to be much harder than he thought it was going to be.

HPHPHPHPHP

It was the middle of the second week of school when Severus finally heard from Lucius. It wasn't much, just a short note that said: _No sign of activity, possibly not reported? _Severus cursed softly as he read it. Surely the girl hadn't been dumb enough to _keep_ the diary? But, according to Lucius, Arthur had not brought the diary in, and Severus knew the man well enough to know he wasn't foolish enough to try and deal with the thing itself. There was only one thing to it, so Severus wrote Lucius a note back saying he would look into it.

It wasn't until the next day that Severus actually got the chance to do so. He went up to Gryffindor tower right after breakfast. All Gryffindor years had classes, and he did not, making it the ideal time to check the situation out.

He entered the tower and made his way up to the first year girls' dorm. Looking around at the posters of the male lead singer of The Weird Sisters, the one bed that was covered in clothes and the pink accents clashing horribly with the Gryffindor red that adorned another bed, he briefly gave thanks for the fact that Harry was a boy. Pink, at least, was not in his future as something he had to deal with now that he was Harry's guardian.

It was easy to identify Ginny Weasley's bed. Not only were her initials on her trunk, but the trunk itself was battered in comparison to the much newer looking trunks of the other four girls. Severus opened it and waved his wand over the contents, checking for the magical marker that was attached to the diary. The spell showed nothing, and Severus frowned. He repeated the spell on the girl's bed and nightstand, both times coming up empty. Getting increasingly worried, Severus scanned the entire room with the spell and even went as far as to scan all rooms in Gryffindor tower when that, too, didn't turn up the diary. But it was no use. Wherever the diary was, it was not in Gryffindor tower.

With dread balling up in his stomach, Severus went to find Albus. With the diary missing, they were in serious trouble.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: this story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoat Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

AN: My apologies for the long wait until this update. Not only have I been ill, but this chapter is also twice as long as a normal chapter, coming it at just over 6.000 words. Enjoy!

**Chapter five: Plans Within Plans**

After Harry had stowed away his trunk, he went in search of his friends. It wasn't long before he located them in one of the compartments. The moment he stepped inside, he had his arms full of a babbling Hermione, while Theo and Draco were openly snickering at his predicament.

"Oh, Harry, I know I already wrote you about it," Hermione said. "But I am _so_ sorry about Sirius and _so_ glad Professor Snape took you in."

"I'm fine, Hermione, really," Harry said, patting her on the back.

Hermione withdrew from the hug and sat back down next to Theo. Harry greeted both boys now that Hermione had calmed down somewhat and sat down himself. Across from him, Hermione was fairly bouncing in her seat, making Harry grin.

"What is it?" he asked her.

"Oh, I'm just so excited for this year," Hermione gushed.

"Oh, come on," Draco groaned, interrupting her before she could build up to full steam. "The school year hasn't even officially started yet. Can we please talk about something else for now?"

Hermione looked slightly downcast at that, but then Theo asked a question about her holiday in Italy, and she was back to her good mood again.

The conversation during the train ride was diverse and the atmosphere lighthearted as the friends rejoiced in being together once again. Still, Harry found himself keeping a close eye on Draco and Theo. Draco, much to Harry's relief, was moving freely without any sign of pain. Whatever abuse had been heaped on him during the holidays, his body at least had been healed. Harry was more worried about Theo. His quiet friend was pale and had dark smudges under his eyes, as if he hadn't slept in days. But at least he was laughing and joking with the rest of them, so Harry hoped that meant he would be okay.

When the train rolled into Hogsmeade Station, the foursome was quick to exit the train and commandeer a carriage. The ride to the castle was over far too quickly for Harry's liking. He knew once they reached the Great Hall, Hermione would have to go and sit with her housemates, where she didn't have any friends and was mostly shunned for befriending Slytherins. Harry felt guilty sometimes when he thought about her up in Gryffindor tower, all by herself. But then he reminded himself of her pale face as she had lain in the hospital wing, dying because of a war Harry could prevent. But not even that thought cheered Harry up as he watched Hermione linger with the three of them to lessen their time of separation.

Eventually, they had no choice but to go into the Great Hall if they didn't want to be late to the Welcome Feast. Just as they entered the room, Hermione held Harry back and pressed a packet of parchments into his hands. Then she walked toward the Gryffindor table without saying a word. Curious, Harry sat down at the end of the Slytherin table, a bit away from the other students. Draco and Theo slid onto the bench across from him, having waited for him to catch up to them.

"What's that?" Draco asked.

"I don't know," Harry said. "Hermione just gave it to me."

He opened the packet and scanned the first parchment. He was both surprised and not surprised at the same time to find a detailed account of laws that impacted Muggleborns differently than Purebloods. A quick look through the rest of the parchments showed a lot of information about the position of Muggleborns in the Wizarding World.

While Harry read, the new first years were sorted into their houses. Across from him, Draco was trying to take a peek at the papers. Harry wasn't so sure it was a good idea to involve his two friends, so he kept the parchments angled away from Draco's curious gaze. When the meal began, Draco took the opportunity to ask about the parchments again.

"Remember what we talked about before the holidays, on the train ride home?" Harry asked. "We talked about Muggleborn and Pureblood differences."

"Yeah," Draco said, while next to him Theo nodded.

"This is Hermione's research on it," Harry said.

"Really?" Draco said, looking interested. "Can I have a look?"

Harry looked at his Pureblood friends. Both of them looked interested, but Harry hesitated in giving them the parchments.

"I'm not so sure that's a smart idea, guys," he said. "We're planning on trying to change things, and with your parents…"

"We're _not_ our parents," Theo said fiercely, with a dark look on his face.

Harry looked Theo straight in the eyes and saw a determined glint there. With a sigh, he conceded the point and handed over the parchments he'd already read. The rest of the meal was spent reading and discussing the information Hermione had gathered.

At the end of the meal, Harry nodded his thanks to Hermione, who was sitting with her housemates at the other end of the Great Hall. For the first time ever, Harry had the feeling that he could do something about the root of the problem that had caused the war. He knew better than anyone that the divide between Purebloods and Muggleborns was what Voldemort preyed on. If he could do so, then the next Dark Lord wannabee could do so too. Lifting the inequality and integrating Muggleborns into the Wizarding World would all help to build a society that was stable and near impervious to Dark Lord of the caliber of Voldemort. And perhaps it would even prevent Voldemort from gaining new followers when he rose again.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHP

Later that evening, after Severus' traditional welcome speech, Harry's housemates were catching up with all of their friends in the common room. Harry slipped away from the group of second years and entered the dorm room, which was blessedly empty.

After coming back from Diagon Alley, Harry had hidden the diary he'd nicked from in between Ginny's books with the locket, both of them crudely wrapped in his Invisibility Cloak and stashed in his trunk. He hadn't dared to look at it for fear of Severus seeing it. But now, in the empty dorm, Harry took out the diary. He was expecting the familiar tingling feeling touching a Horcrux always gave him, but it was strangely absent. Harry frowned; surely the diary hadn't stopped being a Horcrux just because he'd changed the timeline? The Horcrux had been made decades before he had started messing with the timeline, after all. He didn't know if it was how the diary had felt the first time around, as he'd been a bit too preoccupied with staying alive back then to take note of it.

Wanting to be sure, Harry grabbed a quill and ink. He turned to the first page in the book and wrote '_My name is Harry Potter._' With bated breath he waited, only to let out a relieved sigh as the ink disappeared from the page after a few seconds. Clearly the diary was still a Horcrux, despite the different feel to it. He wondered briefly if the different feel was caused by the fact that it was the very first Horcrux Voldemort had ever made. He'd still been young and relatively innocent in comparison to the person he'd been when he'd made his other Horcruxes. Perhaps that had made a difference?

With a snort of derision at his own train of thought, Harry shook his head. Voldemort might be a lot of things, but even at sixteen he had not been innocent. But whatever the cause was for the different feel of the diary, it didn't matter, because it was safely in his possession. With a snap, Harry closed the diary and put it back in his trunk, slipping it into a pile of books he'd brought from home. A tap of his wand later, and his trunk was locked and warded. The Horcruxes safe, Harry left the dorm and rejoined his yearmates, cheerfully celebrating the start of the new school year with them.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

Harry was bored. It was not a state he was familiar with when it came to classes, because even though he'd followed most of the lessons already, his magic still had to learn everything all over again. Except, it seemed, when it came to Defense Against the Dark Arts. Harry had known that he was fairly proficient when it came to Defense. Learning how to cast a corporal Patronus in his third year had taught him that. But he hadn't thought it would extend to his magic relearning, or in some cases just learning, all of the spells, curses, counter-curses and jinxes they covered in Remus' class so easily that he never needed more than two tries to get it right. One try was usually enough in most cases.

With a sigh, Harry threw another Blasting Curse at one of the large boulders set up specifically for this lesson on the Quidditch pitch. The rock exploded into a shower of tiny fragments. It hadn't taken any effort, and it was the third curse he'd thrown in under a minute. Most of his classmates had to wait for a full five minutes before they had the energy to try again. No one other than him had successfully cast the curse yet. He could see Remus giving him a small nod and a smile from where he was helping another student, but thankfully the man didn't draw attention to Harry — enough people were looking at him because his boulders kept exploding.

"Merlin, how are you doing that?" Draco asked, exasperated.

"I don't know," Harry said with a shrug of his shoulders. "I just do."

He supposed it was a good thing he could so easily pick up Defense Against the Dark Arts. He'd need every bit of it to defeat Voldemort. He just wished sometimes he could be normal. Well, as normal as a time travelling survivor of the Killing Curse that was prophesized to kill a Dark Lord could be, at any rate. Sometimes, Harry really hated his life.

HPHPHPHPHPHP

Just like in their first year, both Slytherin and Gryffindor had Friday afternoon off, a fact that Harry, Hermione, Draco, and Theo made thankful use of. After lunch, they met in the Defense corridor and walked to their secret den. All of them were loaded down with heavy book bags. Hermione had brought her research and the books she'd used for it, Harry had brought all available books on the topic that the Hogwarts library had, and Draco and Theo brought the books their parents had sent them on the subject at their asking.

Once inside the room, Harry locked the door. They didn't normally do that, but he figured this was an occasion that warranted the precaution. It wouldn't do for someone to walk in on them.

"All right," Harry said. "Let's talk. Hermione, why don't you begin."

"Well, you've all read the information I gave you, right?" she asked. The boys nodded. "Good, well, it's very clear that there's a lot of prejudice against Muggleborns. There are so many laws that work against us! It's just so unfair. I propose we do something about it."

"Did you have any ideas about that?" Harry asked.

"No, not yet," Hermione responded.'"But we need to take action against the Pureblood establishment."

"Well, it's not just our fault, you know," Draco said.

"Of course it is," Hermione exclaimed. "It's Purebloods who make the laws, and Purebloods who look down on us. How is it not your fault?"

Harry saw that Hermione was pretty upset. He could understand that; it had to be hard to be faced with the fact that you as a person weren't really welcome in society. But on the other hand, Draco was getting angry, and Harry knew his friend well enough to know that with Draco, angry usually meant trouble.

"All right, just calm down," he said. "Hermione, let Draco have his say. He's not saying Purebloods aren't at fault, just that there are two sides to the story."

"Yeah," Draco said. "I know that a lot of these laws aren't fair to Muggleborns. But a lot of Muggleborns are trying to destroy our way of life! They come into the Wizarding World and think they know better than the people who were raised there. They want to change everything without even asking why we're doing something in a certain way."

Hermione looked highly offended, but Harry didn't give her time to start ranting.

"Theo, didn't you say something about Muggleborns being responsible for the laws against werewolves last year?" Harry asked.

"Yes, they are," Theo said. "Werewolves were known to be dangerous, of course, and they usually locked themselves up — well, the good ones, anyway. And as long as they did that, there was no problem. But then Muggleborns started to come into the Wizarding World with their Christian faith, and they riled everyone up so much that eventually the laws were passed."

"But Purebloods are every bit as much against werewolves as Muggleborns!" Hermione exclaimed.

"Yes, but this was in the Middle Ages," Theo said. "It's just one of the history things every Pureblood learns about."

"And that right there is the main problem," Harry said.

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked in confusion.

"Like Draco said, the Pureblood prejudice stems largely from the fact that Muggleborns don't know how to act as proper wizards," Harry said.

He stood and began to pace, waving his hands in his desire to make his friends understand.

"But Muggleborns aren't helped at all! In fact, we're dumped into a world we know nothing about when we're eleven. And by 'we,' I mean Muggleborns and Muggle-raised. Hell, I didn't even get the introduction booklets. And they aren't nearly enough, by the way. From the moment we learn about magic, we're behind! And we will never completely catch up."

"Yes," Hermione said softly. "I've read so much since I learned about the Wizarding World, but I still don't know even half of what you guys do."

Draco and Theo looked stricken, as if they'd never realized that maybe Muggleborns didn't mean to buck traditions. They simply didn't know about them.

"And there's not a good system in place to help us," Harry continued. "There's Muggle Studies starting in third year, but where's Wizarding Studies? Where are Muggleborns supposed to learn about our world? And don't even get me started on the ridiculousness of only explaining magic to a Muggleborn and their family when they turn eleven! Do you know how old I was when I did my first bit of accidental magic? Three! That's how old! How about you, Hermione?"

"I was five," she said.

"Right," Harry said. "So that's what, an average of seven years of incidents of accidental magic without any explanation. How many Muggle parents are afraid of their magical child because of this? How many children are afraid of their own magic? If a Pureblood child does accidental magic, their parents can easily solve it. Muggle parents don't have any solution! And how many Muggleborns get unjustly punished or even abused because of their magic?"

Harry was so worked up that he was panting. He dropped back down in his seat, feeling miserable. Summing it up like that, it seemed like an impossible task to solve.

"Right," Theo said. "So what we need to do first is educate the Muggleborns who come into our world."

"And start explaining magic to them sooner," Hermione added.

Harry smiled at his friends. Although they were still looking a bit stunned after Harry's outburst, they were rallying around him to help.

"Well, my father's been working on an early intervention law," Draco said. "Basically, he wants magic explained to Muggleborn parents the moment the first accidental magic incident is recorded at the Ministry. And he wants to appoint a magical sponsor, so the child has some exposure to the Wizarding World from an early age."

"Such a law would prevent Muggleborns from being abused because of their magic as well," Theo said. "Since there would be supervision."

"Yeah," Draco said. "But he's tried to get it approved two times already, and each time he's blocked by Dumbledore and his cronies."

"But why?" Hermione asked. "It sounds like a really good idea."

Harry thought he had a pretty good idea. In all likelihood, people on the Light side of the war saw Lucius' name on a law that dealt with Muggleborns and then they stopped reading. Harry had to admit that he was a bit wary of any law Lucius wanted to pass, but this law sounded okay.

"Right, so, plan of action," Harry said. "Draco, can you get a copy of the law from your father? I think it's a good idea if we take a look at it and see if anything needs changing."

It would also make sure Harry knew exactly what he was supporting. He didn't want any nasty surprises.

"Yeah, sure," Draco said.

"I'll look into the process of getting a law approved, and maybe I can find how close your father got to getting it passed," Hermione said.

"I can help you with that," Draco said.

"Good," Harry said. "In the meantime, Theo and I will try to come up with ideas, both on what else we can do to help Muggleborns and on how to get this law passed."

Draco and Theo laughed at that.

"What?" Harry said, a bit offended. "I thought that was a good plan."

"Harry," Theo said, still grinning wide. "We don't have to look at ways to get the law passed. All you need to do is let the Wizarding World know _you_ support the law, and it'll pass easily."

Harry gaped at Theo. Surely he didn't have that much political power? But even Hermione was nodding, so he must have. No wonder Fudge had been so eager to paint him black.

"Yes, well, let's look at the law first," Harry said. "Besides, I want to try and make my support look, eh, accidental, for lack of a better word."

"Rule from the shadows," Draco said softly.

"No," Harry said, shaking his head. "I don't want to rule. I just make life better for a few people. If I step forward as a political something, I'll never get the Wizarding World to leave me alone."

"Well," Hermione said briskly. "We have enough to do, and dinner is in half an hour. I say we get to work."

With that, the foursome left the room and dispersed, each going on about his or her own task. And as Harry and Theo walked towards the Slytherin common room, bouncing some ideas for Muggleborn education off each other, Harry felt optimistic about changing history.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

The wind was cold as it whipped around Harry, but he didn't mind. Hovering high above the ground on Draco's old Nimbus 2000, he searched for the elusive gold ball that would secure him a place on the team as a Seeker. There were two other potential Seekers in the air, and one of them was Draco. The rest of the Slytherin Quidditch team — except for Marcus Flint who was also on his broom to survey the flying capabilities of the prospective Seekers — was sitting in the bleachers, waiting to see who would become their Seeker.

They were also missing a Chaser, and Harry had actually debated with himself about trying out for that position. It didn't feel completely right, trying to take Draco's position on the team. On the other hand, it was a fair competition between the two of them. In the end, Harry had decided to try out for Seeker first, and if that didn't work out, he'd try for the Chaser position. Draco had confided in him that he had the same plan.

Suddenly, Draco jerked into a dive. Harry raced after him, although it took a moment for him to see the gold glint Draco was chasing after. He was gaining ground on the blond wizard, but Vaisey was coming up right next to Harry. Just as the Snitch made a steep curve to the left, a Bludger appeared seemingly out of nowhere. Draco pulled sharp to the left, far sharper than the Snitch had made the curve. Harry dunked his broom down, in what would've been a Wronski Faint if he'd actually done it on purpose. From the sickening crack of bone and the scream of pain that sounded over the otherwise silent Quidditch field, it soon became apparent that Vaisey hadn't been fast enough to avoid the Bludger.

Draco and Harry both regrouped a bit higher in the air. Vaisey was being escorted off the field by one of the Beaters, probably the one who'd sent the Bludger into the game in the first place. The Snitch had disappeared in the time it took Harry and Draco to get back on course after dodging the Bludger, so they resumed their searching pattern in the sky.

Ten minutes later, the Snitch still hadn't shown itself, but rain was softly beginning to fall from the sky. Harry cursed softly, thankful for the fact that he had spelled his glasses waterproof before the try-out. He'd gotten into the habit of spelling his glasses whenever he was flying after Hermione had shown him the charm, because Oliver had always been twice as frantic if he didn't do it before a game. It was a funny feeling that a habit he had formed what felt like a lifetime ago was picked up again so easily.

Then, just behind the far goal post, a hint of gold betrayed the Snitch's position. Draco and Harry started after it at almost the exact same moment, but Harry had been slightly closer. Draco quickly closed the gap, as his Nimbus 2001 was faster than Harry's older edition. Neck on neck they raced after the Snitch, weaving in between the goal posts. It ducked under the stands, and the boys followed it until it came out from under the seats and took to the sky. Harry climbed after it, as did Draco, but the blond was gaining ground on Harry and inching closer to the Snitch. Then, all of a sudden, the Snitch dropped steeply to the ground. Both Harry and Draco dived after it. The ground closed in fast, and from the corner of his eyes, Harry saw Draco pull out of the dive. But he knew that if he didn't catch the Snitch now, he might never get this good of a chance again, so he kept after it.

He heard Draco call out his name, a hint of panic in his friend's voice. But Harry ignored it and inched closer to the Snitch. He reached out for it and felt his hand close around the golden ball, it's wings frantically fluttering in an attempt to wiggle free. Harry pulled up sharply, hoping to avoid a collision with the ground. He heard the tail of the broom scraping against the ground but managed to keep his broom in the air. With a whoop of joy, he waved his hand, holding the Snitch in Flint's direction.

"Bloody hell, Harry, you're insane!" Draco said, pulling up next to him.

But the boy had a big grin on his face, so Harry wasn't too put out by his friend's scolding. He was just glad Draco didn't seem to have any hard feelings about the fact that he had won.

"Good job, Potter," Flint said, having flown up to them. "You've got the Seeker spot."

Harry grinned. He'd missed Quidditch more than he had thought and was thrilled he was once again playing on a house team, even if it was Slytherin instead of Gryffindor.

"Malfoy, you did great as well," Flint said. "We'd like to keep you on as the reserve Seeker."

Harry looked over at Draco, wondering how he would feel at being what amounted to second best. But instead of the angry or insulted look Harry was expecting to see, Draco was looking calculating.

"Fine, I'll be the reserve Seeker," Draco said slowly. "If you give me the Chaser position."

Flint raised his eyebrows but also gave a grudging nod.

"Fine, not like I want to stay out in this weather any longer than I have to anyway," he said. "But you'd better measure up, Malfoy!"

With that, he flew towards the bleachers, probably to tell the team and the hopeful Chasers that all the spots on the team had been filled. Harry turned to Draco.

"Blackmailing your way onto the team?" he said with a grin.

"What?" Draco said, in a mock affronted tone. "It's not like I wouldn't have beaten them anyway."

Harry had to give his friend that. He laughed, happy with being a Seeker, happy that Draco also had a spot on the team, and happy to have once again been up in the air.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHP

The first two months of school flew by. There was no opening of the Chamber of Secrets, no petrified students, no being ostracized because of being a Parselmouth, and no Gilderoy Lockhart, which made for a rather relaxing year in Harry's opinion. Not that it meant he had a lot of spare time. Between the continuation of his extra Potions lessons with Severus, Quidditch training and meetings of the Society for the Integration of Muggleborns, or S.I.M. for short – Hermione's idea for a name for their little revolution – he was actually quite busy.

That's why he found History of Magic so relaxing. While Binns droned on about Goblins, Harry could take a nap, do some homework, or just daydream. Today, it was the latter one Harry was indulging in. Thinking about all the things that were better this time around, Harry couldn't help but shake the darker thoughts that crept up on him. He'd been so busy planning S.I.M.'s first moves, he still hadn't retrieved Ravenclaw's diadem from the Room of Requirement.

There was also the fact that although the diary was safely in his possession, there was still the basilisk. It couldn't get out now, but as long as it was alive, it was a potential weapon Voldemort could use — not to mention how much a dead Basilisk was worth, both in terms of potions ingredients and the possibility of creating armor from its skin, which was highly resistant to magic. The only thing Harry couldn't figure out was how to kill the damn thing without raising suspicion.

Harry spent the rest of the History of Magic class trying to come up with a viable explanation for a dead basilisk, but the closest thing he could think of was to tell Severus about the thing and hope the man didn't press him for answers he couldn't give. But Harry also knew that wasn't really an option. Still, by the end of the lesson, he'd come to the decision that the basilisk had to die. And maybe he could figure out how to harvest the snake later. It would stay fairly fresh for some time, so it wasn't as if he had to figure it out right away.

That evening, after the other boys in the dorm were asleep, Harry quietly put his clothes back on. Before he slipped out the dorm, he wrapped his Invisibility Cloak around him, just in case there was someone still up in the common room. There wasn't, and with a whisper of the password, Harry left the room.

Walking briskly, he made his way out of the dungeons and up to the Entrance Hall. When he reached the entrance of the castle, he hesitated for a moment. He had no idea if it was locked or if opening the door would set of some kind of alarm. He cursed his own stupidity, not having thought about that. Perhaps it had been better if he had done this during the day, but then he'd have to explain his absence to his friends. No, this way was better.

Hoping for the best, Harry pushed the front door open just enough for him to slip through. Once outside, he made his way down to Hagrid's cabin as quickly as he could in the dark. Thankfully, the moon was close to full and provided just enough light that Harry didn't need his wand to light to way.

As he came into view of Hagrid's cabin, he hoped Fang wouldn't start barking. It seemed he was in luck, because Fang stayed quiet as Harry walked past the pumpkin patch to the henhouses where Hagrid kept the chickens and more importantly, the roosters.

Three Stupefying Charms later, Harry had three stunned roosters stuffed into the bag he'd taken with him. With the means to kill the Basilisk now procured, Harry made his way back to the castle. Upon reaching the entrance, Harry opened the door with a thudding heart. Although he was wearing his Invisibility Cloak , if there were teachers waiting for him inside, they would know the instant he came in. Doors didn't open themselves for no reason, after all, not even in the Wizarding World.

But evidently, no alarms were set on the doors, as no one was waiting for Harry when he entered the castle. He was unsure if he should be happy that he wasn't caught or concerned that there wasn't better security on the castle. For now, he decided to go with being happy.

Quickly, Harry made his way to the second floor and Myrtle's bathroom. Cautiously, he entered. Myrtle wasn't there, to Harry's great relief. He'd been prepared to play the Bloody Baron; after all, it had worked on Peeves in his original first year. But it was easier all around that Myrtle wasn't there, since Harry wasn't sure she'd actually be intimidated by the Bloody Baron.

"Open," Harry hissed in Parseltongue.

The tap began to spin, soon followed by the entire sink moving down out of sight, and the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets was revealed. In quick succession, Harry released the roosters from the Stunner one by one and dropped them down the pipe. He cringed a bit at the crude way of getting the animals down there, but there was no way in hell he was going to go down there himself. Once all the roosters were released, Harry listened for a moment until he heard the cry of at least one rooster. Once he knew the roosters had survived their trip down, Harry closed the entrance. The roosters would do their work and kill the Basilisk.

Happy with the way the evening had gone, Harry made his way back to the dungeons. He stepped inside the still empty common room and slipped off his Invisibility Cloak. Moments afterwards, Severus stepped out of the shadows beside the fireplace and whipped his wand around, bathing the room in a soft light.

"Mr. Potter, what a surprise," he said.

"Severus, eh, Professor, I, uh," Harry stammered, his heart in his throat.

"You, Mister Potter, are out of bed," Severus said in a dangerous, silky tone of voice. "One begs the question of why?"

I, ah, uh, prank," Harry squeaked out.

"Really?" Severus said with a raised eyebrow. "What kind of prank would compel you to get out of bed in the middle of the night and walk around the castle for over an hour, with an Invisibility Cloak, no less."

Harry stared at the ground silently. There was no way to answer that question correctly. Either he lied, which Severus would know, or he told the truth, which wasn't exactly an option.

"That's what I thought," Severus said after a lengthy silence. "You will serve detention with me tomorrow evening after dinner, and you've just lost your House twenty points."

"Yes, sir," Harry mumbled.

He briefly wondered why he was getting off fairly lightly, but that passed as soon as Severus held out his hand.

"And I will, of course, be taking that cloak with me," he said.

Harry raised startled eyes up to Severus, his hands clenching the silky material of the cloak. He was panicking, he knew it, but he _needed_ the cloak. He still needed to retrieve Ravenclaw's diadem, and who knew what else he might need his Invisibility Cloak for. Not to mention that he had never been without it since he'd gotten it, either in this timeline or the original one.

"No!" he exclaimed, backing up from Severus.

"Mr. Potter," Severus began, but Harry didn't let him continue.

"No, you can't take it. Please, I need it. You don't understand," Harry said, panic clearly lacing his voice.

"Harry, calm down," Severus said. His frown was replaced with a look of worry. "You'll have it back, I promise. Besides, there is nothing you would need it for right now."

"No," Harry nearly moaned. "You don't understand."

"Then tell me," Severus said. "Make me understand."

"I can't," Harry choked. "I can't."

Severus sighed and in two paces he was in front of Harry. But instead of taking the cloak from Harry's hands, as Harry was expecting, he just drew Harry into his arms.

"It's going to be all right," Severus said. "I promise."

Trembling, Harry hugged back. After a minute or so, he withdrew from the hug and Severus let him go. With trembling hands, Harry gave the cloak to Severus.

"Don't, just, don't tell anyone about it," he asked.

"I won't," Severus said. "I will keep it safe, and you will have it back, I promise. Now, off to bed with you."

Downhearted at the turn this night had taken, Harry did as he was bid, leaving his precious Invisibility Cloak in the hands of his guardian. It took a long time before Harry fell asleep that night, and even then, his dreams were filled with his failures and the deaths that came out of them.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

The next day, Harry was in a gloomy mood. His friends had asked him what was wrong, but all Harry had said was that Severus had caught him out of bed. They commiserated with him about the loss of points and detention, but that wasn't what had Harry so down. Still, he supposed it could be worse. At least he knew the cloak was safe, and perhaps he could persuade Severus to give it back to him during the Christmas holidays.

During dinner, Severus stopped by Harry's seat on his way to the Head Table.

"Bring your homework to detention," he said.

"Yes, sir," Harry answered.

He was rather surprised Severus told him to bring homework. He'd counted on scrubbing cauldrons, or worse, cutting up some of the more disgusting potions ingredients. But he decided not to complain if Severus was willing to be lenient. He briefly wondered if it was the fact that he was a Slytherin that was the cause, or if it was his rather pathetic behavior the night before; but either way, Harry wasn't complaining.

After dinner, Harry makes a beeline for the Slytherin dorms, where he stuffed his Transfiguration homework in his book bag. For good measure, because he was unsure how long he'd be serving detention, he also put his History of Magic homework in his bag. Checking one more time to see if he had everything he needed, he decided that it would be a good idea to take a second book with him for his Transfigurations homework. If his memory served him correctly, McGonagall had said something about using references not found in their textbook.

He threw open his trunk to dig for a book he can use. He quickly thumbed through the stack of books he brought with him, and then pulled one out to take with him. He's already halfway to closing the lid of his trunk when it hits him. The diary wasn't in the stack! Frantically, he threw the lid back open and checked the stack again. Then he checked his entire trunk. But it didn't help; the diary was gone. Thankfully, whoever stole it missed the locket, but that didn't change the facts. Someone out there knew about the diary and had stolen it. All of it, the time travel, the changing of the timeline, all of it had been for nothing. Because now, one of the Horcruxes was gone.

AN: With many thanks to my amazing beta!


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: this story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoat Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

**AN: There are two questions I get asked a lot, so I thought I'd answer it in this AN. 1. Will this be Harry Potter/Severus Snape slash? No, it will not. There will be nothing more than a guardian and child relationship between the two in this series. 2. Will this story be slash? This specific story will be gen, as Harry is still too young for a relationship. However, this series will contain slash in later stories. It will not be graphical, but it will be there.**

**Chapter six: Like Fathers, Like Sons**

The student-out-of-bed alarm on the Slytherin dorms dragged Severus unwillingly from his sleep just after midnight. If it was the fifth years doing a desperate, midnight cramming session for their O.W.L.s in the library again, he was going to kill them—especially since it was only November. With a groan, he grabbed his wand off the nightstand and waved it in a complicated pattern to see which dorm the signal came from. It signaled that one of the second year boys was out of bed.

Severus was immediately wide awake. The fact that it was Harry's dorm was not lost on him. Coupled with the fact that the blasted diary still hadn't been located, it was just too much of a coincidence for him. With his heart in his throat, he threw on some robes and his boots and then quickly took the Floo down to the Slytherin common room. It was empty, so Severus swiftly made his way to the dorm rooms. He had the vague hope that Harry might have gone back to bed. There was no doubt in his mind that it _was_ Harry who'd tripped the alarm. Unfortunately, Harry's bed was empty. Terror gripped Severus' heart, but without knowing where to look, it would be a fool's errant to go and search the castle.

Quietly, so as not to wake any of the other boys, he walked back to the common room. He had a moment of panic, and he envisioned all kinds of terrible things: Harry kidnapped by Death Eaters or somehow hurt by that blasted missing diary. He briefly entertained the thought of calling Albus for help. But he also knew that if he went to Albus now, he'd probably be told he was overreacting to a normal, teenage stunt. Nevertheless, Severus swore that if the boy had indeed gone out just for some stupid teenage stunt, he was going to be in detention until Christmas. He took up a position in the deep shadows next to the hearth, where he could easily keep an eye on the entrance, and settled in to wait.

An hour later, Severus was beginning to get worried. What if his first thoughts hadn't been quite as ridiculous as he'd thought? He was debating whether or not to raise the school-wide alarm when the entrance to the common room opened. Severus drew himself up to full height, ready to reign down his wrath on Harry. But while the entrance closed after a while, no one had come through. He frowned and was just about to step forward to investigate when Harry suddenly appeared. Severus swore mentally. The boy had a damn Invisibility Cloak. It was James' Invisibility Cloak, most likely, and Severus knew _exactly_ who to blame for giving a twelve year-old such an item.

He stepped forward and waved his wand to provide some light. Harry jumped in fright, and Severus narrowed his eyes. He'd spent the last hour getting more and more worried. Now that he saw his charge was perfectly fine, that worry made way for anger.

"Mr. Potter, what a surprise," he said.

"Severus, eh, Professor, I, uh," Harry stammered.

"You, Mister Potter, are out of bed," Severus said. "One begs the question of why?"

Harry had better be smart enough to tell the truth, because Severus was not feeling patient enough to listen to whatever excuse the boy would think up.

I, ah, uh, prank," Harry squeaked out.

Severus narrowed his eyes. Harry was nervous, and it was easy to see that he was lying. Yet there was something in Harry's demeanor that was giving Severus an uneasy feeling.

"Really?" Severus said with a raised eyebrow. "What kind of prank would compel you to get out of bed in the middle of the night and walk around the castle for over an hour—with an Invisibility Cloak, no less."

Harry stared at the ground. Every line of his body radiated how uncomfortable he was feeling. That was nothing new. Every student Severus had ever caught out of bed had felt uncomfortable, and he wasn't swayed by it in the least.

"That's what I thought," Severus said after it became clear Harry wasn't going to break the silence. "You will serve detention with me tomorrow evening after dinner, and you've just lost your House twenty points."

"Yes, sir," Harry mumbled.

"And I will, of course, be taking that cloak with me," he said, holding out his hand for it.

Harry raised startled eyes to his, but Severus was unmoved. Did the child really think he'd let him keep an Invisibility Cloak? He couldn't, in good conscience, allow a child access to something that was both so valuable and potentially dangerous—not as a Professor, and certainly not as Harry's guardian.

"No!" he exclaimed, backing up from Severus.

"Mr. Potter," Severus began, but Harry didn't let him continue.

"No, you can't take it. Please, I need it. You don't understand," Harry said, panic clearly lacing his voice.

The fear that was coming off the boy was palpable. Whatever Harry had been doing, it was nothing as simple as a prank or a midnight trip to the kitchen. And it was making Severus worried, extremely worried. He could think of several different reasons for Harry to act like this, and none of the reasons were good.

"Harry, calm down," Severus said. "You'll have it back. I promise. Besides, there is nothing you would need it for right now."

"No," Harry nearly moaned. "You don't understand."

"Then tell me," Severus said, desperate for an answer. "Make me understand."

"I can't," Harry choked. "I can't."

Severus wanted to keep pressing, wanted to find out what could have happened that Harry was so twisted up over it. Several scenarios, from potions abuse to self-harm flashed through his mind. Whatever it was, Severus realized he wasn't going to get an answer out of the boy—not tonight, anyway.

Severus heaved a sigh and stepped forward, drawing a trembling Harry in his embrace. The boy hugged him back as if he was the only solid rock in a stormy sea.

"It's going to be all right," Severus said soothingly. "I promise."

After a long moment, Harry withdrew from the hug and Severus let him go. With trembling hands, Harry gave the cloak to Severus.

"Don't, just, don't tell anyone about it," he begged.

"I won't," Severus promised. "I will keep it safe, and you will have it back. I promise. Now, off to bed with you."

He watched Harry go, his head bowed low and his shoulders hanging. Gently, Severus folded the cloak to carry it back with him to his rooms. He'd keep it safe, just as he would keep Harry safe, whatever the child's demons were.

The next day during lunch, Severus went to Harry's dorm room. The most logical way of figuring out what was going on with Harry was to look through his things. Severus had long ago learned that teenage boys might be very good at hiding their thoughts when they really wanted to, but they still mainly kept the physical evidence of their deeds in obvious places, like their trunks. Severus carefully looked through the trunk, not exactly sure what he was looking for. Potions vials, maybe, or some sort of sharp instrument.

When Severus found the familiar diary in between Harry's things, the icy ball of dread that had been in his stomach since the night before exploded into white hot anger. Out of all the scenarios Severus had envisioned, this was the one he feared the most. The Weasley girl had not left the diary at home, lying innocently in her room, nor had it somehow escaped his detection when he'd searched for it. It had never been in her possession to begin with. With a snap, he closed Harry's trunk and reset the wards that were on it.

The diary clenched tightly in his hand, he stalked out of the dorm back to his quarters. He grabbed a hand of Floo powder as soon as he reached his living room and threw it in the fire. It turned green, and Severus got on his knees, sticking his head into the Floo and calling out for Malfoy Manor.

"Lucius. Lucius!" he called out.

It wasn't long before Lucius came into view.

"Severus, everything all right?" Lucius asked.

The worry in his friend's voice, no scratch that, ex-friend's voice made him snarl.

"No, everything is not bloody all right," he said. "Get your ass here, right now."

Without waiting for answer, he withdrew from the Floo. Seconds later, Lucius stepped through. Without waiting for the man to get his bearings, Severus smacked the diary down on the coffee table.

"What in Merlin's name is the meaning of this?" he asked.

"You found it?" Lucius said, part surprised and part relieved.

"Don't play dumb with me, Lucius!" Severus roared, actually succeeding in getting Lucius to take a startled step backwards. "What were you thinking, slipping it to Harry. Did you think I wouldn't notice? Did you think you'd get rid of the Dark Lord's enemy? Was that your plan all along?"

Lucius had gone very pale and stiff, looking at Severus with wide eyes. Then his eyes narrowed.

"Now you listen to me, Severus. I did not place that diary on Harry Potter," Lucius said. "So just calm down, and we can figure out how this happened."

"Don't tell me to calm down," Severus shouted.

"Severus, really, this is not as big deal as you're making it out to be," Lucius said, enragingly calm.

"Not a big deal," Severus screamed. "You tried to kill my son!"

Lucius' eyes widened with surprise, and Severus dropped down heavily on a chair, the anger pouring out of him and leaving only the fear he felt for Harry in its wake. Oh dear Merlin, he thought to himself. Since when did he think of Harry as his son? He wasn't, no matter how much Severus wished it to be, and thinking like that would only get his heart broken. He startled when he felt Lucius' hand on his shoulder. He looked up to see the man watching him with compassion and understanding in his eyes.

"I swear to you, Severus, I had nothing to do with this," Lucius said, and Severus believed him. "Is Harry all right?"

"I think so," Severus said. "He was off doing Merlin knows what last night and seemed a bit irrational after I caught him. But other than that, he seemed fine."

"Either way, you now have the diary, and it can't harm him anymore," Lucius said.

Severus sighed and rubbed his hands over his face. Lucius was right, but it didn't help Severus feel any better. The blond wizard seemed to understand, because he left with a last supportive squeeze to Severus' shoulder. Once again alone, Severus contemplated what to do. He'd never anticipated Harry being dragged into their plan. But what was done was done, and with the diary no longer in Harry's possession, he'd be just fine. He'd let Harry's detention stand, if only so he could keep an eye on the boy for his own peace of mind, but he'd tell him to bring some homework. No use in punishing the child anymore than he'd already been punished for something he had no control over.

Later that evening, Severus dearly wished they knew more about the diary and its effects. Harry was pale and distracted, and Severus couldn't help but feel it was because of the dairy. He'd tried to start a conversation with Harry several times, but the child wasn't very talkative. In the end, he let him be, only vowing to keep a close eye on the boy for the foreseeable future.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHP

After an entire Friday of worrying about Harry, who was decidedly gloomy, Severus was glad Saturday morning had arrived. Between the Quidditch game planned for today and the surprise he had for Harry, he hoped the boy would be in a better mood.

He made sure to be at breakfast early, but Harry and his friends still beat him there. Draco was looking a bit queasy, but Harry was as animated as Severus had seen him since he'd confiscated the boy's Invisibility Cloak. Clearly, he was excited for his first Quidditch match.

As the Great Hall slowly filled with students, Severus eagerly anticipated the arrival of the mail. Finally, when breakfast was reaching its end, the barrage of owls that delivered the mail winged their way into the great hall. Six barn owls, carrying a large, slender packet, made their way towards Harry.

Severus watched as Harry and his friends quickly cleared some space when it became apparent the package was for Harry. He watched as Harry grabbed the card first, opening it, reading it, then whipped his head around to watch Severus with wide eyes. Severus smiled and nodded at Harry. He'd kept the note short and to the point, merely writing _Consider it an early Christmas present_ and signing it with _Severus_, so Harry would know the gift came from him as Harry's guardian, not as his Professor or Head of House.

With a slight smile on his face, Severus looked on as Harry eagerly tore into the package, revealing a brand new Nimbus 2001. Harry whipped his face towards Severus, a beaming smile on his face.

"Thank you," the boy mouthed, before turning his attention back to the broom.

"Don't you think that's a bit over the top to give to him?" Minerva muttered beside him.

Severus smirked. The broom had drawn the attention of the other members of the Quidditch team, and they were gathering around it, admiring it but not touching. Flint slapped Harry on the back, almost careening the boy into his plate of food, clearly happy about Harry receiving it just in time for the game.

"As his guardian, it's perfectly logical to buy him a broom now that he's the Seeker on his house team," Severus said. "I couldn't in good conscience allow him to use Draco Malfoy's cast-off broom, could I?"

"And it has nothing to do at all with increasing your team's chances against Gryffindor today?" Minerva said sarcastically.

"Not at all, my dear Minerva, none at all," Severus said sugary-sweet.

Minerva merely glowered at him, muttering about unfair advantages. Severus merely smiled as he took a sip of his tea. No matter what Minerva thought, Severus hadn't bought Harry the broom to increase Slytherin's chances for the Cup. No, he'd bought the broom because it wasn't fair to Harry that he'd lost his own and because the boy needed a pick-me-up after the whole diary fiasco. But most of all, he'd bought Harry the broom because he'd _wanted_ to. Of course, having one more advantage over the other house teams was a nice bonus.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

In the week before the Christmas holidays, when the weather had turned cold and biting, the list of on-duty staff for the Christmas holidays was handed out to everyone during the weekly staff meeting. Severus perused it casually, mainly to see who else would be staying at the castle this year. It came as a great shock to him to see Sinistra's name listed as Acting Head of House for Slytherin, while his own name was missing from the list.

"Albus, why aren't I on the list?" Severus asked, bemused.

Ever since he'd started at Hogwarts as both the Potions Master and Head of House for Slytherin, he'd stayed. So it was a complete mystery as to why Albus had chosen to leave him off the list this year.

"Why, my boy," Albus said with a smile. "I thought you'd might like to spent your holiday with Harry this year."

Severus felt his eyes widen in realization, and a flush crept up his cheeks. Rolanda guffawed, Irma snickered, and even Filius couldn't contain his laughter.

"You hadn't even thought about it, had you?" Minerva asked with mirth.

Severus groaned at his own stupidity. No, he hadn't thought about it. It was so common for him not to have anyone to spend the holidays with that it hadn't even registered with him that this year he did. His colleagues would never let him live this down.

He also realized he would need to talk to Harry about the upcoming holiday. The child had remained at Hogwarts last year, and if what he knew of his life with the Dursleys was any indication, he wouldn't have celebrated Christmas before coming to Hogwarts. So it was very likely that Harry hadn't given the matter any thought at all. And while it was all good and dandy for Albus to decide he should spent the holidays with Harry at Spinner's End, that didn't mean the boy would actually want that.

The next day, Severus requested Harry's presence in his office after dinner. The timid knock on his door made Severus scowl. Ever since that wretched diary had been retrieved, Harry had been looking pale and tired, and he was far more timid and silent than he had been before. Severus felt a stab of renewed concern for him. He knew there was nothing physically wrong with him—he'd performed several diagnostic spells on the sly already—but something was going on.

Consciously setting that aside, he wiped the scowl off his face and called Harry inside.

"You wanted to see me, sir?" Harry asked.

"It's Severus," he said, smiling, letting Harry know it wasn't a school matter.

Harry smiled back and relaxed greatly. Perhaps, Severus thought, the boy just needed a holiday. He resolved to make this Christmas the best one Harry had ever had, even though he himself wasn't much into the holiday.

"I just wanted to let you know that we'll be going to Spinner's End for the holidays," Severus said.

He didn't exactly know what kind of reaction he'd expected from Harry, but the almost horrified look on the boy's face wasn't it. He felt a stab of desolation at the thought that Harry would be so opposed to spending Christmas with him that he'd rather stay at Hogwarts.

"But, but if we go home," Harry stammered, "then Draco will have to go home, as well."

It took Severus longer than he cared to admit to comprehend Harry's objection to celebrating Christmas at Spinner's End. But when he did, a wave of relief washed over him, as it seemed Harry's unwillingness to go to Spinner's End had nothing to do with Severus after all. It was followed up quickly with a wave of regret, however, as he thought about Draco.

"I'm sorry," he said. "But Draco will not be allowed to stay at Hogwarts this year under any circumstances."

Narcissa would not allow it, not with the Dark Lord's specter running around the Wizarding World, plotting Merlin knew what. Harry's shoulders slumped down. Severus knew how the child felt, but there was nothing he could do.

"But despite that," Severus continued, "I do hope you'll allow yourself to enjoy Christmas."

Harry smiled at that.

"With a tree and everything?" he asked.

"With a tree and everything," Severus answered back with a grin.

"Yeah, I'm sure I'll enjoy it," Harry said.

Severus could tell the boy meant it. And he would make sure Harry would indeed have a tree, and presents, and everything they had both missed during previous Christmases.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHP

Severus finished all his end-of-term responsibilities at Hogwarts in record time. Still, he had to hurry if he wanted to be at Platform 9 ¾ in time to pick up Harry. He'd thought of keeping him at Hogwarts and just taking the Floo to Spinner's End, since that would have been infinitely easier, but in the end he'd decided that the train ride was such an integral part of the Hogwarts experience, he couldn't deny Harry that.

After turning over responsibility for the remaining Slytherins to Sinistra, Severus rushed out of the castle and made his way to the gates. The moment he crossed the wards, he Apparated to King's Cross station.

The platform was teeming with parents and younger siblings, but thankfully the train had not yet arrived. Severus installed himself next to a pillar that was set a bit to the back of the platform, where it was a bit quieter. It wasn't long before the bright red Hogwarts Express came into view. As it came to a stop and the students started spilling out, the platform became a total chaos. Instead of wading into the mass of people as a dumb Diricawl, Severus stayed where he was, using his height to look for Harry.

He wasn't surprised in the least to find the boy huddled with Theodore, Draco, and Hermione. They seemed to be frantically trying to sort out a pile of parchments and books. Standing shoulder to shoulder, they closely guarded whatever was on the papers. It didn't take them long before all papers were duly sorted and stashed away.

Severus' mind immediately flashed back to the beginning of the school year, where he'd seen similar behavior from this group. In fact, they'd been slightly off this whole term, frequently disappearing into an empty classroom they'd converted into some kind of common room. But with the missing diary and later his concern about Harry, Severus had never followed up on it. Perhaps he should have.

The foursome was now talking and joking, obviously unwilling to leave each other to go in search of their parents. Severus settled in to wait. He'd let Harry spend some more time with his friends. Now that he'd finished his work at Hogwarts, he was no longer in a hurry.

Suddenly, the whole demeanor of the group changed. Hermione lost her easy smile and stepped slightly behind Harry as if seeking protection from him. She hid her face in her hair in a display of shyness that couldn't be anything but false if you even remotely knew the girl. Draco and Theodore went stiff and formal, Pureblood masks drawn up tight. They seemed to ignore Hermione completely, although Severus saw Draco shoot a quick, apologetic look to the girl before he wiped that off his face as well. Harry had kept his smile and continued talking as if nothing had happened, but there was a subtle tension in his body that he managed to hide masterfully. Severus went on high alert, searching for whatever had happened to spook the children. He found it in the approaching Xavier Nott and his wife.

He looked back at the group, silently applauding them for their performance. Hermione seemed to be the outsider, only being with them for Harry's grace, while Theodore and Draco ignored her, as if she was beneath them. It was a perfect performance for the Notts and likely for Draco's parents as well. Severus smiled. Oh yes, these kids were going to go far, of that he was certain.

Theo went away with his parents; soon after, Hermione spotted her parents, as well, leaving Harry alone with Draco. When Severus saw Lucius making his way toward the boys, he also made his way over. It was time to take Harry home.

HPHPHPHPHPHP

Severus watched as Harry was once again ensconced in a Defense Against the Dark Arts book that was N.E.W.T. level. It seemed as though no matter how much he was keeping Remus' idea of giving Harry extra lessons away from the child, Harry had begun teaching himself. Severus just wished he knew if it was because Harry was truly interested or merely knew, somehow, that he was going to need it later on.

It was his biggest fear when it came to allowing Harry to do extra lessons. If the child felt he _needed_ to do them, it was an easy step to convince him that he had to do everything alone and that he couldn't trust adults to protect him. This was exactly the opposite of what Severus wanted to teach Harry, now that the boy had a somewhat stable home here with him. With a sigh, Severus headed over to where Harry was sitting. It was time they talked.

"Don't you think that's a bit heavy as reading material during the holidays?" he asked lightly.

"Nah," Harry said, looking up from his book. "It's just a bit of light reading."

Severus raised his eyebrow. Light reading? By Merlin, if Harry was thinking of that book as light reading, he was even more advanced than Lupin had figured.

"Professor Lupin had a talk with me a while back about your performance in his lessons," Severus said.

He had Harry's complete attention now, as the boy watched him with curiosity and a hint of apprehension. Severus wished he didn't understand the apprehension in Harry's gaze, but he could only imagine too well what it would have meant for Harry if his previous guardians had ever sat him down for a _talk_. He also knew that time was the only thing that would heal those wounds in Harry, so he ignored it.

"He told me you were picking up everything fairly easy," Severus said. "And if you can understand that book, then you're far more advanced than your classmates."

"I'm sorry," Harry mumbled.

"It's not a bad thing, Harry," Severus said. "And nothing has to change."

He wanted that to be perfectly clear. Seeing Harry read a N.E.W.T.-level book might have driven Lupin's point home to Severus, but he'd be damned if he was going to pressure Harry into doing something he didn't want.

"But we have talked about the possibility of giving you some extra lessons," Severus said. "That is, if you'd be interested."

"Yes, sir," Harry said eagerly. "That would be great!"

"That bored?" Severus asked with a chuckle.

Harry blushed, grinning sheepishly.

"I'll talk it over with Professor Lupin and get something set up for you," Severus promised.

HPHPHPHPHPHP

Christmas Eve found Harry and Severus sitting on the couch in the living room, both with a cup of hot cocoa in their hands. The only lights on were the fairy lights strung up in the Christmas tree, casting a soft glow over their surroundings. The pile of presents beneath it had grown exponentially during the day as owls brought presents from friends to be added to the presents Severus and Harry had already placed under it. It was all very domestic, and even though Severus would deny it to his death, he was actually enjoying it.

"Professor?"

Harry's voice was soft and hesitant as it broke the comfortable silence. Severus held in a sigh. He'd been waiting for this conversation the entire day, as Harry had grown more restless and started casting him uncertain looks. The fact that he'd reverted to using his title instead of his name told Severus that Harry had finally dug up the courage to start whatever conversation he was planning on having.

"It's Severus, remember," Severus replied.

"I, eh, I wanted to ask about my Invisibility Cloak," Harry said.

Severus was surprised. He'd taken the cloak from Harry more than a month ago. Could the child really be worried about it still?

"It's safe," Severus said. "I've put it in a safe place."

"Oh, I know," Harry said easily.

The trust displayed by the casual words caused Severus to smile. Not many people trusted him, and to have this amount of trust coming from Harry meant the world to him.

"Then what did you want to ask about it?" Severus asked.

"I wanted to ask if I could have it back," Harry said. "Don't say no right away," he rushed to add. "Just, hear me out first."

Severus nodded to show he would listen.

"It's just … it belonged to my Dad, you know?" Harry said. "And I don't have anything of him. Just some pictures, but it's not … just not the same. I've got those letters my Mum wrote, thanks to you, but the cloak was all I had from my Dad. And I know it's crazy, because it's safe, but I just … want it back."

Severus sighed. That would explain Harry's rather panicked reaction at having to give it up, but it didn't negate his original reasons for confiscating it. On the other hand, he could see it from Harry's point of view. For a crazy second, he thought about asking Albus for advice, but he already knew what the man would say. After all, it had been Albus who'd given the boy the cloak in the first place—probably for the very reason Harry was now asking for it back.

"I will give it back to you," Severus said, and Harry's face lit up with a smile. "Wait a moment. I'll give it back on the condition that you do not use it. If I ever catch you using it again, I will confiscate it until you're of age and out of Hogwarts. Are we clear?"

"Yes, I promise, I won't use it," Harry said, giving Severus a quick hug.

"Very well. I will return it to you when we get back to Hogwarts," Severus said. "Now, off to bed with you."

Harry went to his room, leaving Severus alone downstairs. He stared at the fairy lights, wondering if he'd made the right decision. The odds of Harry keeping his word were very low, yet Severus had completely caved to the pleading look the child had sent him. With a wry grin, Severus stood to go to bed himself. He was sure he was going to regret his decision in years to come, but right now, with Christmas a few hours away and Harry so obviously happy, he couldn't really bring himself to care.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: this story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoat Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

**Chapter seven: Marauder's Heir**

It was two days after the best Christmas ever that Severus approached Harry about visiting Sirius at St. Mungo's. Harry was a bit hesitant, since the memory of the attack and Sirius' delusion that he was James Potter was still fresh in his mind. But in the end, his desire to see his godfather won out.

After taking the Floo to St. Mungo's, Harry and Severus made their way to the fifth floor, where Sirius had been given a private room. Severus had warned Harry that Sirius was still having delusional episodes, but Harry hadn't realized what that truly meant until he was standing by his godfather's bedside. The man had turned vacant eyes towards Harry.

"James, man, am I glad to see you," Sirius whispered. "You've gotta get me out of here before they come back."

Harry swallowed harshly, trying to dispel the lump in his throat from hearing Sirius address him as if he was his father. Severus, accompanied Harry into the room, squeezed Harry's shoulder.

"I'm Harry. Remember, Sirius?" Harry asked.

"Yes, yes, James' son, little Harry," Sirius said with a bright smile.

Harry felt some hope at Sirius' words, but it was soon dashed as the man continued.

"How's little Harry? Is he teething yet?"

It was then that Harry realized Sirius was still stuck in the period before he was sent to Azkaban. He turned to Severus, tears in his eyes.

"I thought they were supposed to make him better," he said. "He's worse than he was before!"

Severus looked at him with sympathy and drew him a bit away from the bed.

"Actually, he's not," Severus said. "He was able to hide it pretty well before, but the Healers have him on a mild truth serum, which means he's more likely to tell them exactly what he's thinking. I know it looks bad, but it's actually a good thing. Now that they are aware of the problem, they can help him."

Harry looked back at the bed, where Sirius was mumbling something to himself. It was scarily similar to the behavior of some of the victims of the Cruciatus curse. During the escalation of the war, a great many people had been left in this kind of condition, their minds broken but not yet withdrawn inside themselves like Neville's parents. With that image in his mind, Harry turned back to Severus.

"Can they fix him?" he asked plaintively.

"Yes, they can," Severus said. "It will take time, but he will get better, Harry."

Harry wondered if Severus believed his own words or if he was just trying to comfort him. Either way, Harry didn't really believe him. Sirius' mind was damaged. He'd been damaged in the original timeline as well, but he'd hidden it well from others because he'd been on the run. After that, he'd spent most of his time alone at Grimmauld Place, which hadn't helped him at all. In the end, before Belatrix killed him, he'd shown just how damaged he was, calling Harry James, just like he was doing now. The fact that even after his stay at St. Mungo's, both the first time and now, he was still not showing any signs of improvement, made Harry think Sirius would never recover.

"What will happen if he doesn't get better?" Harry asked.

'He will," Severus repeated.

"But what if he doesn't? Harry pressed.

Severus heaved a sigh and then smiled slightly.

"Then you get to stay with me," he answered.

Harry thought he could live with that. He cast a last glance at Sirius and turned back to Severus.

"Let's go home," he said.

HPHPHPHPHPHP

The day before Harry would be traveling back to Hogwarts, Severus sat him down at the kitchen table. Harry was immediately on edge as the man sat across from him with a serious look on his face.

"I want to talk to you," Severus began.

Oh, oh, Harry thought. He'd never had a conversation that began with those words turn out good for him. He steeled himself for whatever Severus wanted to tell him.

"I've noticed several times throughout the term that you and your friends seem to be planning something," Severus said.

Harry sighed. He should've known his Head of House would pick up on that. The man was just too damn observant.

"Now, I am talking to you as your guardian, not as your professor," Severus said. "If there's anything I need to know to keep you safe, now would be the time to tell me. I won't punish you for it. Consider it a one-time free pass for whatever it is the four of you have been doing."

At once, Harry understood what the man was getting at. Considering that in the First War many of Voldemort's followers had joined him while they were still at school, Harry could only imagine what the man was thinking they were doing. Dark magic, dangerous magics, illegal things—there were a lot of ways to get yourself into serious trouble in the Wizarding World, and many of these things were addictive in some way or another.

"Yes, we're working on something," Harry said. "But it's not dangerous, I promise. It's just an idea we're working on. But we don't think Draco and Theo's parents would be really happy with them working with Hermione."

"I understand that," Severus said, relaxing a bit. "But I am not their parents, and although I was a Death Eater, I do not hold to the Pureblood prejudice they do. So it is safe to tell me about it."

Harry sighed. It figured Severus wouldn't be happy with the simple explanation. And although it was true, it wasn't the whole story, and Severus seemed to sense that. Harry knew that avoiding the issue or lying would just make matters worse. Severus would get suspicious and would start to investigate, leading to the discovery of things Harry wanted to keep under wraps for now. So, he gambled on the man's understanding and trust, hoping he had both enough that the man would take him at his word.

"I know you're worried," Harry said. "But I promise, we're not doing anything illegal or dangerous. I'm just not comfortable sharing yet. Could you let it go? For now?"

Severus stared at him for a long moment, and Harry was never as glad that he had brushed up on his Occlumency skills during his time at the Dursleys before Hagrid had come, so he could keep information hidden that was not protected by the ritual that had sent him back in time. He hid all things pertaining to S.I.M. behind the same wall he kept his knowledge about the Horcruxes behind. He didn't know for sure if Severus was taking a peek inside his mind, or if he was just using his skills at reading people, but he didn't want to take any chances. After several long moments, Severus sighed and nodded his head.

"Very well," he said. "I'll let it go, for now. But I will not let you keep this from me forever."

Harry nodded his understanding and then fled the room, relieved Severus hadn't pressed. He resolved to push up the timetable on the first plan on their agenda, just in case. Perhaps if he could show Severus some results when he pressed for answers, the man wouldn't completely blow his top.

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It was early Saturday morning and the library was deserted except for Harry. He was sitting at one of the tables with a huge stack of books in front of him, and he was going through the books one by one. Somewhere, in one of these books, had to be the answer he was looking for. Surely there was some kind of spell that could tell him where the diary was. Someone had taken it, probably someone in Slytherin, and then either kept it or given it to someone else so they could get possessed. So it should still be in the castle. Now all he had to do was find a spell that would lead him to the diary, and he could steal if back.

An hour later, Harry had worked his way through all of the books, ending up with a list of six spells he hadn't tried yet. He wanted nothing more than to try them right away, but one look at his watch told him it was almost time to meet with his friends. When they'd found out that Harry was going to have extra Defense Against the Dark Arts lessons once a week from Remus, they'd insisted on Harry teaching them what he was learning. Or, to be more honest, Hermione had insisted on Harry teaching her, and Harry had convinced Draco and Theo to join their lessons as well. They hadn't taken much convincing, thankfully, especially when Harry pointed out that with them running S.I.M., they were potentially painting a target on their back.

Of course, the real reason Harry wanted them to learn how to defend themselves had more to do with Voldemort's return than anything else. But he couldn't exactly tell them, so he'd resigned himself to waiting until after the Triwizard Tournament to start training them, like in the original timeline. But when Severus had pitched the idea of extra Defense lessons, he'd eagerly taken them, figuring every little bit of training would help. That his friends wanted him to teach them was a big bonus and something that might one day save their lives.

With a sigh, he looked back at the list of spells. They were pretty complicated, and he'd have to practice them a few times, so there really wasn't time to do it now. Harry placed the books back on their shelves and tucked the list securely in his bag. He'd try the spells out later.

That evening, while the other boys in Harry's dorm were deep asleep, Harry methodically went through the list of spells. One by one he tried them, all without result. Either the diary was no longer at Hogwarts, or the spells just couldn't detect a Horcrux. Harry suspected it was the latter. With a defeated sigh, he threw his wand on his nightstand and sank back under the covers. There had to be a way to find the diary. The only thing that was going according to plan was that the basilisk was dead, so whomever got possessed and opened the Chamber wouldn't be able to kill anyone with it.

Suddenly, Harry sat upright as he was hit with an idea. Whoever was now in possession of the diary didn't know the basilisk was dead, and the person wouldn't until he or she opened the chamber. And last time, it had taken two or three months before Ginny was possessed enough to open the chamber for the first time. Since the diary had vanished at the beginning of November, whoever had it now probably hadn't tried to open the Chamber yet. But the person soon would. All Harry had to do was keep watch. Of course, he couldn't do that in person. It would be too difficult to explain why he was always there, and Severus would probably catch him if he was out of bed at night. Harry wasn't stupid; after last time, he'd figured out that Severus probably had wards up that alerted him if students left the common room at night.

So that left only one solution: the Marauder's Map, which was currently in the possession of the Weasley twins. There was no way they'd give it to him, even if he could think of a plausible way of asking them for it. So that left one option. He was going to have to steal it. And with Severus' wards up, he was going to have to do it in broad daylight. That meant using his cloak. Harry felt kind of bad that he was breaking his promise to Severus only days after he'd gotten the cloak back from him, but he figured this was kind of a life or death situation. And Severus was never going to find out—not if he could help it.

The opportunity to go after the Map came the next Monday. Harry begged off lunch and started walking toward the Slytherin common room. He ducked into a side hallway, where he pulled his Invisibility Cloak out of his bag and put it on. He then made his way towards Gryffindor Tower.

When he got there, Harry settled in to wait. It took about ten minutes before a group of giggling third year girls walked up to the Fat Lady and gave her the password. The painting swung open, and Harry scrambled inside after the girls, just before the painting swung shut again. The Gryffindor common room, with its red and gold and comfy couches by the fireplace, felt a bit like coming home. It was the last place he'd been truly happy in the original timeline, before Voldemort came back and his friends started dying. But things were different now, and Harry didn't have the time to start remembering.

He snuck up the stairs to the dorm rooms, entering the fourth year boys' dormitory, hoping nobody would be there. Luck was with him, and the dorm room was empty. Harry spelled the door locked, hoping that would give him enough of a warning if someone tried to enter. He kept his Invisibility Cloak close by as he carefully opened Fred's trunk. He wouldn't be surprised if the twins had booby trapped their trunks; but once again, that didn't seem to be the case. He dug through the stuff, but he didn't find anything. The same went for George's trunk. Harry was getting a bit desperate by now, as he knew lunch would soon be over, and he needed to be in class.

He checked the nightstands next and breathed a sigh of relief as he spotted the Map. He grabbed it and held his wand against it.

"I solemnly swear I am up to no good," he whispered.

The Map came to life, lines moving across the parchment to depict Hogwarts, dots with labels moving around. Relieved to have found it, Harry deactivated it and stuck it in his bag. He looked around one more time to make sure everything was where it belonged, except for the Map, and nothing betrayed his presence in the dorm room. Finding everything as it should be, Harry slipped his Cloak back on and unlocked the door.

In the common room, he had to wait for several tense minutes before someone opened the portrait. His heart nearly stopped when it was Ron who came through, shouting at someone in the hall that he'd be just a minute. Harry could imagine only too well what had happened. Ron had forgotten a book, like he'd done a thousand times in the original timeline. Usually it had been Harry and Hermione waiting in the hallway until Ron had joined them again. This time it was Dean and Seamus, Harry saw as he climbed through the portrait hole.

It hurt to think of Ron with them, instead of with Hermione and himself, and he quickly walked away, not wanting to be in the hallway when Ron came back. When he was in the more general area of the castle, Harry once again ducked into a side corridor where he removed his Invisibility Cloak and stuffed it deep down in his bag. He joined his year mates in Charms class, secure in the knowledge he now had the Map and could easily monitor it for anyone entering the Chamber of Secrets. He focused on that, trying to forget about Ron. It was easier than Harry had thought it would be.

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It was cold. Very, very cold. Not for the first time since the game started, Harry was thankful he had cast a warming charm on his Quidditch robes. Even with the warming charm, his teeth were still clattering. Cho Chang, Ravenclaw's Seeker, was shadowing him rather closely. He'd tried several Wronski Feints, and she'd followed every one of them, but she always pulled out too soon for her to crash into the ground and be taken out of the game. And she was copying every move Harry made. In the end, he just let her and focused his energy on finding the Snitch. He wanted to get off the Pitch before he froze to his broom.

Slytherin was ahead in points, with Draco, Marcus, and Adrian playing well together. They were so much better than Davies, Bradley, and Chambers that they even managed to play without having to resort to any of the dirty tricks Slytherin had used during the original timeline. They hadn't used any dirty tricks against Gryffindor either, but Harry had caught the Snitch inside of five minutes that time, so there hadn't really been much time for it.

Suddenly, Cho raced off. Harry followed her immediately, seeing the Snitch a split second later than Cho did. He gained on her fast because his broom was much better than hers. For a moment, they were neck on neck, but then Harry pulled ahead. The Snitch pulled up sharply, and Harry followed. Moments later, his hand closed around the little golden ball. The crowd cheered as Madam Hooch blew her whistle, signaling the end of the game. It was then that Harry saw a flash of black out of the corner of his eye.

He pulled his broom sidewards, but he wasn't fast enough to completely avoid the Bludger. The ball hit him in the arm, and Harry could feel the bone breaking. The sharp flash of pain made Harry nearly black out, and he shakily guided his broom down to the ground. He was immediately set upon by his teammates who asked him if he was all right.

"I think I broke my arm," Harry said.

"Merlin, Harry, sit down," Draco said. "You look like you're about to pass out."

Harry did as Draco suggested after handing the Snitch to Flint, who seemed amused by Harry's priorities. Draco fluttered around Harry, asking him if he was all right and if he could do anything, which amused Harry. Draco seemed more panicked about his broken arm than he was himself. Harry was just relieved he didn't have to deal with Lockhart removing all of the bones in his arm this time.

It wasn't long before Severus arrived from his place in the bleachers, and he took Harry with him to the infirmary. There, Madam Pomfrey gave Harry a potion for the pain and fixed his arm. He was right as rain within five minutes, but Severus didn't want to let him go. The man tried to make Madam Pomfrey keep him in the infirmary for awhile at first; but to Harry's relief, she was having none of that.

In the end, Severus resorted to taking Harry with him to his quarters and making him lie on the couch. Harry would've been disgruntled at the treatment if the man hadn't provided him with drinks, snacks and books all afternoon. Basically, Severus Snape was motherhenning him worse than Molly Weasley ever had. And this time, it wasn't someone else's parent worrying over him: it was his own guardian. And childish though it might be, Harry was taking full advantage. The warm feeling he got from Severus' worry over him was worth a simple broken arm.

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"What time was the meeting going to end again?" Harry asked Draco under his breath, so as not to attract McGonagall's attention.

"Will you relax," Draco hissed back. "Dad'll make sure it won't finish before we get out of class, and he'll make sure they'll exit on foot instead of using the Floo. Now pay attention, before McGonagall gives you a detention."

Harry did what Draco said, because his friend was right. He couldn't afford to be held back by McGonagall today. The first plan of the Society for the Integration of Muggleborns was going to be implemented today, and Harry wanted everything to go off without a hitch. The lesson dragged on for him, but eventually it ended. Harry threw his things in his bag and took off for the entrance hall. He arrived first, but a few minutes later Hermione hurried up to his side.

"Did I miss them?" she asked anxiously.

"I haven't seen them yet," Harry answered.

The two of them settled in to wait. In the end, they needn't have hurried, for it was another fifteen minutes before they heard voices coming their way. Before long, the group they were waiting for came into view. The Headmaster was there, as was Lucius Malfoy, together with six other wizards and witches that together made up the Governing Board of Hogwarts. Harry didn't know how Lucius had done it, but he'd managed to draw the meeting out until after their classes ended and prevented any of the Board from leaving by Floo — exactly as requested by Draco, even though Draco hadn't told his father why.

After reviewing the law Lucius had tried to pass twice already and finding nothing objectionable about it, they had started planning how to get it passed. The plan the foursome had come up with in the end was quite simple. Harry was to use his political influence to support the law, while Hermione's voice would be added to the mix to show that true Muggleborns were behind the law as well. They'd had some discussion about how to go about it, as Harry wanted his support to look natural and accidental, not like a calculated plan. It was Theo who'd come up with this plan when he'd pointed out that the Governing Board of Hogwarts contained three of Lucius' most fierce opponents on this law besides Dumbledore, namely Augusta Longbottom, Griselda Marchbanks, and Elphias Dodge.

"Mister Malfoy," Harry said with a smile as he walked up to the man, Hermione following close behind.

The entire group stopped as Harry approached. He saw a quick flash of surprise in Lucius' eyes, which he wouldn't have seen if he hadn't spent as much time with Severus, whose emotions could often only be read in a twitch of the lips and a flash of emotion in his eyes.

"Harry, how nice to see you again," Lucius said. "How are you?"

"I'm fine," Harry said. "I'm busy with school and all."

"Well, my boy, nice though this is, the governors really must be on their way," Dumbledore said.

He was smiling, but Harry knew the Headmaster well enough to see he really didn't like Harry talking to Lucius. Tough luck for him though, because talking with Lucius was exactly what Harry was here for.

"I just wanted to ask Mr. Malfoy something," Harry said. "I figured since you're here, sir, I might as well."

"I have time," Lucius said.

"I was wondering, when are you going to resubmit your law on early intervention for Muggleborns?" Harry said. "Draco mentioned something about it."

"Why, that law is never going to pass," Mrs. Longbottom said before Lucius had a chance to answer.

Harry let his face fall.

"Really? That's too bad," he said. "I wished it would've been in effect before. Maybe the Dursleys wouldn't have had a chance to abuse me then. I just can't help but wonder how many more children are in the same situation, you know?"

The governors were shocked by his words, but Lucius wasn't. Harry figured he'd already known or was just really, really good at hiding his reactions.

"Yes, Harry, I can imagine," Lucius said. "It is for children like you that I want an early intervention."

"Oh, but the law isn't just for preventing abuse, right?" Hermione asked. "I mean, I would've liked an early intervention as well, but my parents aren't abusive."

"You are Muggleborn?" Lucius asked.

"Yes, and I feel so behind all the time," Hermione said, laying it on thick. "I mean, Draco tries to help me, but there's just so much I have no idea about. Like last year, he had to explain the whole significance of Yuletide. It's just not like that in the Muggle world."

"Yes, I understand where you're coming from," Lucius said. "Although I'm afraid even if I can get the law passed this time around, it won't do either of you any good anymore."

"Oh, no," Hermione said. "But it can help everyone who's not yet going to Hogwarts. That's got to count for something, right?"

"Quite, Miss …?"

"Granger, sir," Hermione said.

"Quite, Miss Granger," Lucius said.

"So, you're planning on trying to get the law passed again?" Harry asked.

"Yes, I've been doing some minor re-writes, but I was thinking about suggesting it again at the next Wizengamot meeting," Lucius said.

"Great," Harry said with a big grin. "I really hope it passes this time. But I think we've taken up enough of your time, Mr. Malfoy. Besides, we're supposed to meet Draco in the library."

"It was nice meeting you, sir," Hermione added.

"It was my pleasure, Miss Granger, Harry," Lucius said. "Give Draco my regards."

Harry and Hermione left, but in their wake, they could hear furious mutters in the group of governors and Miss Marchbanks' voice asking some pointed questions about Lucius' law. At the very least, it had gotten them to objectively look at the law again. Harry could only hope Theo and Draco were right and this would be enough.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight: Weaseling Out Secrets**

On Monday evening, Lucius came to visit. He was grinning like the cat that got the canary and Severus wondered what had him in such a good mood.

"You know," Lucius said when he was seated. "I might have had my doubts about Harry Potter belonging in Slytherin, but I take it all back. That boy is pure deviousness, wrapped in the package of an innocent waif-like boy."

"Really?" Severus asked sarcastically. "And what changed your opinion?"

Severus was curious but also apprehensive. Whatever had happened, it was obviously Lucius was very pleased with it. Severus didn't know if that would bode well for whatever it was that Harry had done.

"You know there was a meeting of the Board of Governors today?" Lucius asked.

Severus merely raised an eyebrow. As if he could forget, it was every month and they controlled his budget. He'd had to appear before them many times to justify expenses, most of them caused by students who simply couldn't read and remember simple instructions.

"Draco wrote to me about a week ago, asking if I could make sure the meeting wouldn't end until his last class had ended and if I could make sure all the governors would leave on foot, so they would go through the Entrance Hall," Lucius said. "And he added a cryptic little note about it being very beneficial for my health."

"I assume he aroused your curiosity enough that you complied?" Severus asked.

He knew his friend well. The blond wizard might act aloof most of the time, but Lucius' curiosity was greater than that of a Kneazle. Draco had truly played his father on his greatest weakness.

"Of course I did, and I am ever so glad for it," Lucius said. "We were stopped by Harry and his friend Miss Granger. Dumbledore must've felt something was up, because he desperately tried to herd all of us out."

"He didn't succeed?" Severus said, his own curiosity peaked.

"Oh no, Harry simply ignored him. Without seeming rude, I might add. And then he asked me about my early intervention law," Lucius said. "And basically told all the governors that if it had been allowed to pass earlier, he would never have been abused by his Muggle relatives. His friend, Miss Granger, than added her own two knuts, which of course was a nice addition, seeing as that she's a Muggleborn."

Severus saw immediately why Lucius was so very pleased. With Harry speaking his support for the law and basically saying it could've prevented him, the Boy Who Lived, from being abused, it was almost guaranteed to pass. Any last reserves the three opponents would have about it would've been wiped away by Hermione's approval of the law.

"I see," Severus said.

And he did see, perhaps even better than Lucius. While Lucius might know Harry had given his support for the law, he had no idea that his son, Theo, Hermione, and Harry had been working on this since the start of the school year. And if Severus wasn't mistaken, they had probably been working on much more than merely this. Oh yes, he saw. It was high time that he had that talk with Harry.

Severus had the opportunity to talk with Harry the next day during their scheduled extra Potions lesson. They started out preparing ingredients, and he made sure Harry wasn't handling a knife when he made an offhand remark about Harry passing a law. It got an instant reaction, as the boy froze up.

"Uh, I can explain that," Harry said.

"Please do," Severus replied dryly.

"It started after our first year, actually, when we were riding the train back," Harry said. "Hermione wanted to stay in contact during the holidays and Theo and Draco, well, you know."

Severus nodded his understanding. Yes, he knew all too well that neither sets of parents would've reacted well to their children writing to a Muggleborn. Although after today, he thought Lucius might not have such a problem with Hermione.

"And then when they explained why, Hermione decided to look into the differences between Muggleborn and Purebloods," Harry continued. "There were a lot and most of them weren't fair. But then Theo and Draco said that Muggleborn weren't even _trying_ to fit in, you know. And they got into this huge fight."

Harry was talking animatedly now, waving his hands, completely forgoing working on his ingredients. Severus hid a smile, happy the child could talk with him like this. It must mean he was doing something right.

"But in the end, we decided it was probably a little bit of both," Harry said. "Muggleborns not always trying to fit in and at the same time, not getting enough information and everything so they can fit in. So we decided to change that. And then Hermione started calling us the Society for the Integration of Muggleborns, or S.I.M. for short."

"And that is why you supported Lucius' early intervention law?" Severus questioned.

"Yep," Harry said, going back to his work.

Severus sighed. He was foreseeing a great many outrageous actions by this foursome. And the scary part? Most of them would work simply because it was Harry Potter that was doing it, backed up by the Malfoy and Nott name. And if it went wrong? Then Severus was going to have to bail them out of it. He wondered if he should have a Wizarding Attorney on standby.

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January slid into February, but even though Severus had now figured out what Harry and his friends were up to, he still didn't think he had the whole story. Harry was still looking drawn and tired, as if he got too little sleep. He'd tried several times to talk to him, but Harry hadn't given Severus any answer he could work with to try and find the problem. So, in desperation, he went to see Lupin.

"Have you considered the fact that he might be ill?" Lupin asked.

Severus glared at him over the rim of his teacup. What did Lupin think, that he was stupid?

"Of course I have," he snapped. "None of my diagnostic scans have turned up anything."

Lupin was ever calm in the face of Severus' temper, much to Severus' chagrin, and merely hummed thoughtfully.

"Well, that's a relief. Do you want me to talk to him?" the man asked.

Severus actually considered it, which alone was a measure of how far out of his depth he felt. In the end, though, he discarded the idea as useful. After all, wasn't it Lupin himself who'd once said that Harry trusted Severus more than him? And if Harry wasn't opening up to Severus, then there would be no way he'd say anything to Lupin.

"I don't think that it will actually help," Severus said with a sigh. "I've given him plenty of opportunities to talk to me, but he either redirects the conversation or clams up completely."

"You know, when I was little and something was bothering me, my mother used to let me help her bake cookies," Lupin said. "At the end of the baking session, I'd usually told her what was bothering me."

"You're suggesting I bake cookies with Harry?" Severus asked incredulously.

Lupin had to gall to laugh at Severus. Severus glared at him until he'd calmed down enough to explain what he was trying to say with that ridiculous childhood memory.

"No, not at all," Lupin said, chuckling. "But children tend to tell you things they'd never share otherwise when they're engaged in something they find fun."

"But I've tried to talk to him during our Potions lessons," Severus said.

"Yes, but Potions might be a bit too much like a classroom setting," Lupin said.

Severus hummed in thought. Lupin might have a point, their Potions lessons were a bit like a class. Perhaps if he took Harry flying, that was something the child loved to do. Yes, he could do that. Flying wasn't really conductive to talking, but perhaps after the exercise, the boy would be tired enough to let something slip.

"Perhaps you are right," Severus conceded.

After that, the talk shifted to school matters and from that to other things. One cup of tea became two and before he knew it, Severus had been talking with Lupin for over an hour. Vaguely he wondered how Lupin kept managing to con him into being social. He drained his third cup of tea and abruptly stood.

"I don't know about you, but I've got more to do today than yammering with you," he said.

"Of course, Severus," Lupin said. "I'll see you out, shall I?

Damn the man for being so pleasant and accommodating, Severus thought as he stalked back to his quarters. It made it increasingly difficult to resent the man.

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When Harry came in for his potions lesson that Saturday, he was clearly taken aback by the fact that there were no ingredients and cauldrons set out.

"I thought we might do something else today," Severus explained with a smile.

Harry looked at him with curiosity but also with a bit of suspicion. It made Severus' heart ache that the child, _his_ child, although not by blood, felt he needed to hide things from him. Harry obviously expected to be pushed to talk, but Severus was determined not to do that. He was trying out Lupin's crazy idea, yes, but if it didn't work, Severus would let it go for today. The last thing he wanted to do was make Harry suspicious of every little thing they did together.

"If you'd like, I thought we could do some flying today," Severus continued.

Harry's eyes widened with surprise, quickly followed by a big grin. Severus smiled back.

"Go get your broom and gloves, and don't forget a warm cloak," Severus said. "It's cold outside. I'll meet you in the entrance hall."

"Yes, sir," Harry said, then took off with a run.

Ten minutes later, Severus was waiting on Harry in the entrance hall. He'd pulled on his warmest cloak and donned gloves and had dug out his old broom. It was nowhere near as good as Harry's broom, but Severus thought he might still be able to give Harry a run for his money. When Harry arrived, excitement pouring off him, Severus guided him outside and towards the Forbidden Forest.

"I thought we were going flying?" Harry asked.

"We are," Severus replied. "But as a teacher, I am required to show some decorum, so we cannot use the Quidditch Pitch. But there's a clearing in the forest we can use."

"So basically, you're breaking the rules for this?" Harry asked mischievously.

"Of course not," Severus said. "I was merely showing you where to find certain potions ingredients, and the brooms were just a safety precaution."

"Of course," Harry replied, snickering.

When they reached the clearing, they took to the air. Severus had brought a Quaffle and a Snitch to play with, but they started out just flying around, getting increasingly acrobatic. Of course, Severus was a little bit rusty and Harry was just very good at flying, so it ended up being Harry who did most of the acrobatics. Eventually they started throwing the Quaffle around and in the end they even broke out the Snitch, much to the delight of Harry.

But while Harry's delighted laughter rang out across the clearing quite often and Severus' chuckles were heard as well, there wasn't much talking going on. What little talking there was, was mainly inconsequential. But as Severus walked back to the castle with a flushed and happy child at his side, he couldn't find it in himself to feel disgruntled by it.

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Unfortunately, the next day, Severus' worry returned full force. With the amount of exercise Harry had gotten the day before he should've slept quite well. Instead, he appeared at breakfast looking like he hadn't slept at all. Severus was certain now that something was wrong and the only thing he could think of was that it had something to do with that wretched diary.

With that in mind, Severus Floo called Lucius after breakfast.

"Severus, something wrong?" Lucius asked.

"I need to know everything you know about that diary," Severus said without preamble. "What kind of effects it has on a person and what kind of influence it could have after its removal."

Lucius frowned.

"Well, you already know I don't know what it does, exactly," Lucius said. "But as far as I know, it shouldn't have an effect when it's not being used, let alone when it's no longer in someone's possession. Why?"

"It's Harry," Severus confessed. "Something's wrong with him, yet I cannot find out what. I've tried to talk with him several times, but he is not cooperating."

Lucius chuckled. Severus glared at the man. This was not a laughing matter. Something was wrong with Harry and he was at a loss as to what.

"Of course he's not, Severus," he said. "He's a boy, a child, they never cooperate."

"Yes, well, that's not helping," Severus said. "I've tried everything, I even went to Lupin for advice. Not that it did any good."

"Have you considered asking someone who might actually be able to help?" Lucius asked. "Someone like, oh, I don't know, another parent?"

Severus glared at Lucius, not appreciating his sarcasm, even though the man was right. Perhaps instead of asking Lupin for help, he should've asked someone with children first. After all, what did the wolf know about raising children anyway?

"Are you going to help me or not?" he snapped.

"You know how stubborn Draco can be," Lucius said. "Sometimes, the only way to get to the bottom of whatever was going on in that boy's mind was just sitting him down and telling him he wasn't going anywhere until he talked."

"And that helped?" Severus said.

"Oh yes," Lucius said. "Granted, there was this one time he sat there for close to eight hours, missing two meals, before he talked, but talk he did in the end."

"Well, it's worth a try," Severus said. "It's not like anything else has worked so far."

Severus thanked Lucius for his advice, then withdrew his head from the Floo. He wrote a note to Harry to come to his quarters, then steeled his resolve to do this. He vowed to himself that Harry wasn't going anywhere until he'd talked, no matter how stubborn the child proved to be.

It didn't take long before Harry showed up and Severus made him sit down on the couch, then took a seat in the chair opposite of that. He looked Harry in the eyes, making the child squirm a bit. Good, Severus thought, he's already nervous. That will make this a bit easier.

"Something is going on with you," Severus said. "It has been for awhile now. I've let you avoid the issue until now, but no more. Today, we are going to talk."

Harry opened his mouth to say something, but Severus cut him off.

"No, do not say it is nothing! You are not sleeping well, not eating well either, and you are clearly worried about something," he said. "Now, you _are_ going to talk to me. And until you do, you can just sit there."

Severus said back in his chair, watching the stunned look on Harry's face. The child didn't say anything, which was what Severus had suspected would happen at first. But no matter, he had time. He picked up a book and pretended to start reading. He could feel Harry's eyes resting on him, measuring if he really meant what he had said.

It took half an hour of increasing fidgeting on Harry's side and studied fake indifference on Severus' side before the boy cracked.

"It's just…I can't…you'll probably be angry," Harry stammered.

Severus put his book down and gave his full attention visibly to Harry.

"At the moment, I am just very concerned," he said. "I will not lie to you and tell you I won't be angry, for I have no idea what this is about. But I can promise you, that even if I will be angry, I won't stop caring for you and I will still do everything I can to help you."

"Do you remember when we were in Diagon Alley and Draco and Ron got into a fight in the bookstore?" Harry said softly after a moment.

Severus merely nodded, not wanting to interrupt now that the child had finally started talking.

"I saw Mr. Malfoy slip something in Ginny Weasley's cauldron," Harry continued. "I didn't know what it was, but I figured what with him being a Death Eater and all it couldn't be good, so I stole it. While everyone was watching Draco and Ron, I just… slipped it out of her cauldron and in between my books."

Ah, so that was how Harry had gotten the diary in his possession. Good to know Lucius hadn't been lying about that.

"I didn't want to tell you, because it was stealing, you know," Harry said, looking imploringly at Severus. "So I just put it in my trunk. I was planning on leaving it at your house when I was there next, for you to find."

And the child hadn't thought about what Severus would think if he found something like that? As if anyone else could've gotten through the wards to place it there without Severus knowing. Although, perhaps Harry had just hoped Severus wouldn't ask about it.

"But then it was just gone one day," Harry said. "I looked everywhere, but it was just gone. Someone must have stolen it and I still don't know what it does, but it felt Dark. And now someone has it and it's all my fault."

The child was near tears now and Severus sighed. All this worrying over something that could've been solved so easily. He felt relieved it was something this simple, although he still had a few choice words to share with the boy. This could never happen again.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter nine: Fair Play**

Harry looked anxiously at Severus, hoping the man had bought his story. He'd known for a while now that Severus was not going to let things go for much longer, so he hadn't really been surprised by the man's ultimatum. But he also wanted to keep his time travelling a secret, so he hoped Severus didn't sense that he was still holding back some information.

"First of all, I am not happy at all that you choose to keep an object you knew was Dark, instead of handing it over to me," Severus said. "No matter how you got it. Did you honestly think I would get mad at you for that?"

Harry shrugged his shoulders. No, he didn't think Severus would've gotten mad at him, if that was what had really happened. But he'd had to come up with some reason for keeping the existence of the diary from Severus and that was the only thing he could think of on the top of his head.

"I wouldn't have," Severus said. "As for it going missing, you can stop worrying about that. I took it from your trunk."

"You what?" Harry blurted out surprised.

Severus nailed him to his seat with a glare.

"Do not take that tone with me, young man," he said. "You were acting strangely and I went through your things to find the cause. Clearly you were under the influence of the Dark artifact, which is why I removed it from your trunk. You had no business to even have it in your possession. And in case you've forgotten, I am still your guardian and responsible for your well being."

"Sorry, sir," Harry said, chastised by Severus' words and his real concern for Harry's well being.

In a way, this was the best news Harry had gotten since the diary had disappeared. Although how Severus had missed the locket in his search was anyone's guess. But at least the diary was safe for now in Severus' hands. It did pose the problem of having to somehow destroy it without telling Severus about the whole time travel thing, but Harry figured that was a problem of a later date. For now, it was safe and that was all Harry was concerned with.

He could've done without the detentions Severus was setting for him, though, but he would take what he could get. After Severus was through berating him for endangering himself, he pulled Harry into a hug.

"Don't ever make me worry like that again, brat," Severus said.

Harry wanted to promise that he wouldn't, but he knew what lay ahead. Severus would be plenty worried in years to come. But for now, it just felt good to have someone care for him enough to butt into his business like Severus had just done.

HPHPHPHPHPHP

Two weeks after Harry had learned that Severus had the diary, he finally had a detention-free evening. Since the danger of someone deliberately stealing Horcruxes from Harry had passed with the knowledge that it was Severus who had taken the diary, Harry thought it was time to retrieve Rowena Ravenclaw's diadem.

So today after dinner, he'd gone to the seventh floor. He walked three timed past the carpet with the trolls, thinking about the room where he'd hidden the Half-Blood Prince's book in the original timeline. It had been after that year that the whole Wizarding World had fallen under Voldemort's rule. Only Hogwarts and Hogsmeade had been resisting in the end, with Hogwarts being the head quarters of the resistance and Hogsmeade a place where refugees from all over Great Britain came. Because the refugees couldn't be distinguished from spies, they couldn't be let into the castle that served as the headquarters of the resistance, but they were relatively safe in the village. Or as safe as anyone not bowing before Voldemort had been in those days.

It had been after what should have been Harry's seventh year that Hermione had found a picture of Ravenclaw's diadem and Harry had recognized it as the tiara he'd placed on the bust of the ugly, old wizard to remember where he'd stashed the potions book. But when he'd gone to the Room of Requirement to retrieve it, it had been too late. Someone had already taken it and hidden it somewhere else. Voldemort had known back then that Harry and his friends were hunting for his Horcruxes and was retrieving them, hiding them again under new protections. It had been a losing battle.

But this time around, Harry knew he would be in time. He opened the room to find it the size of a large cathedral with high windows, just like the last time he'd seen it. The broken and damaged furniture had a deep layer of dust on it and nothing indicated it had been disturbed in recent years. Harry made his way through the stacks of books and other broken bits and pieces until he finally spotted the bust he'd used. Nearby lay the dusty old wig he'd placed on top of the bust. A bit of poking around in the vicinity turned up the tarnished tiara that was worth more to Harry than the greatest treasure.

With a sigh of relief, Harry placed it in his bag and left the room. Three down, three to go.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

It was on a balmy day in May that Slytherin had its final Quidditch game. They were neck on neck with Hufflepuff, who had an extremely strong team this year. Whichever team won this game was likely to win the Quidditch Cup. Not only was it an important game, it was also the first game where Slytherin was met with any real resistance. And it was probably that which gave rise to the all too familiar play Harry remembered from the original timeline.

There was no question about it, Slytherin was cheating. The number of fouls was stacking up high and it seemed to Harry that Madam Hooch had to whistle and give away a penalty shot to Hufflepuff every other minute. Unease about the play of his teammates made Harry's stomach tighten. He wanted to win just as bad as his teammates, but not like this. After another blagging by Pucey, and the subsequent penalty shot, Harry waved to Marcus Flint for a time-out.

"What's the matter, Harry?" Marcus asked as soon as the team was on the ground.

"You're cheating!" Harry accused.

Marcus gave him a long, dark look.

"So what?" he said.

"Stop doing it," Harry demanded.

'Or you'll what?" he said scathingly.

Harry narrowed his eyes, angry with the condescending tone Marcus gave him as well as with the blatant cheating he wasn't even sorry for.

"Or I'll quit," Harry said.

Just then, Madam Hooch waved at them that their time was up and the team took to the sky again. Harry took up his position above the general playing field again, looking for the Snitch with one eye and keeping the other on his teammates. He sent a glare in Marcus' direction after the first foul and an angry gesture after the second one. The third foul was too much for Harry and he angled his broom to the ground. Cedric followed him, probably unsure if Harry had seen the Snitch or not, but pulled out pretty fast when it became apparent that there was no golden ball Harry was going after.

When Harry reached the ground, he landed and started walking off the field, much to the consternation of the spectators and players. Harry heard Lee Jordan's comments, asking if there was something wrong with him, heard his teammates angry shouts, heard the roar of the crowd. But he didn't care.

Ignoring it all, he went to the Slytherin locker room and got changed. He could still hear the consternation outside, but it was muted. For a second, the noise grew as the door opened, then closed again. Harry didn't look up from tying his shoelaces.

"Harry, are you all right?" Severus asked, revealing who it was that had come in.

"I'm fine," Harry said shortly.

"If you were fine, you would be out there, playing," Severus said, sitting down on the bench next to him. "What happened?"

"They were cheating," Harry said, finally looking up. "I can't stand it and I told Marcus to cut it out, but he wouldn't."

"So you quit," Severus said.

"Yeah, so what?" Harry said defensively.

Severus merely smiled and squeezed Harry's shoulder.

"I think that was a very brave thing to do," Severus said. "Although I believe your housemates might not be so understanding."

Harry snorted.

"Yes, I kind of figured that," he said.

"Tell you what, why don't you go to my quarters, you know the password," Severus said. "I'll see how the game ends and try to calm them down afterwards."

Harry gave Severus a grateful smile. He'd known his teammates were angry, but he hadn't thought of the consequences of his actions, nor of what his housemates would think when he'd made the decision to stop playing. He'd only thought of that after he'd already done it and by then it was too late to take it back. Not that Harry wanted to. If his House was going to be angry at him, it might as well be for something he actually did. Still, he was glad for Severus' support. Harry didn't think he'd be able to stick to his guns if the man had been angry with him for it.

Severus left to go back to the game and Harry gathered up his things and went to Severus' quarters. He tried to occupy his time with reading, but his thoughts kept straying towards the Quidditch game. Sure, Draco would take his Seeker spot and Montague would get to fill in the Chaser spot, but he wasn't worked in at all and while Draco was a good Seeker, he wasn't as good as Harry. Cedric on the other hand was very good. In essence, Harry quitting the team like that had lost them the Cup.

When Severus finally came back, Harry anxiously looked up. The man looked grim, which wasn't boding well for Harry.

"What happened?" Harry asked.

"We lost," Severus said. "And the House is pretty angry with you right now, to say nothing of your teammates."

Harry groaned. Great, that was just what he needed. Severus sat down next to him on the couch.

"Do you regret your actions?" he asked.

"No, not really," Harry said with a sigh. "I wish the results were a bit better though," he added with a wry smile.

Severus smiled back.

"They'll come around," he said. "Just keep your head held high. You did what was right today and I couldn't have been more proud of you."

And that alone, Harry decided, made everything worth it.

Later that evening, though, Harry was beginning to doubt his earlier assessment. He'd spent the rest of the afternoon and dinner with Severus, delaying seeing his housemates, but eventually had to return to the common room before curfew.

The moment Harry walked into the common room, everyone stopped talking. They all looked at him, their faces varying from indifferent to downright angry, but nobody spoke a word. Harry fidgeted where he'd stopped to stand and that seemed to break whatever spell there'd been in the room. Almost as one, the House turned away from him and ignored him.

Harry decided that keeping his head down was really the best way to go about this, so he headed to his dorm. Unfortunately, Draco was there and unlike the rest of his housemates, who were content to just ignore Harry, his friend was spitting mad.

"What in Merlin's name did you think you were doing out there?" Draco screamed at him.

He didn't give Harry a chance to explain or even to say something. Instead he continued to shout, insults interspersed with biting comments about letting down the House, losing them the Quidditch Cup and most likely the House Cup as well. For the first time since traveling back in time, Harry saw the Draco he'd known in the original timeline. The Draco that had eventually become his enemy.

"Shut up, just shut up," Harry screamed back when he couldn't take it anymore. "You don't know anything!"

He retreated to his bed and pulled the curtains, spelling them shut so he could get some peace and quiet. It was the last he'd have for some time. In the weeks after the Quidditch game, Harry once again became intimately familiar with being ostracized. The majority of Slytherin House ignored him completely, but there were a few, like the Quidditch team, that went out of their way to insult him at every turn. Oh, outside of Slytherin House, when other houses were present, everyone was icily polite, but as soon as it was just Slytherins Harry was left no illusions as to how they felt about him.

Draco didn't repeat his diatribe of the first evening, nor did he join the ranks of those who insulted Harry on a daily basis, but he also rebuffed any attempts from Harry to talk. The only ally Harry still had in Slytherin House was Theo, who acted normal and sympathetic, but couldn't actually help him. Hermione was also sympathetic, not to mention outraged on his behalf at his housemates, but as a Gryffindor she was even less helpful than Theo.

They still worked together on the next S.I.M. project, and much to Harry's amazement Draco had kept showing up in their common room, but there was no communication whatsoever between the two. Until, that is, Hermione huffed in exasperation and threw her hands into the air. Evidently, after about two weeks of Draco and Harry not talking, Hermione had had enough.

"That's it! This is ridiculous," she said. "Theo, come on, we're leaving. And you two," she turned to them, hands in her side. "Work. This. Out."

She left then, Theo going with her. Harry guessed he was sick of this impasse between his friends as well. Harry sighed. He knew Draco. The blond would never make the first move. But Harry genuinely missed him, missed talking to him and just joking around.

"Draco, look, I'm sorry for just quitting the team like that," Harry said. "But I honestly couldn't do it, I couldn't play like that. You've got to understand that."

"You just left us there, abandoned us," Draco said.

"And for that, I'm sorry!" Harry said. "But are you really going to stay angry over a Quidditch game?"

"You have no idea what's at stake," Draco hissed at him.

Suddenly, Harry had the feeling there was a lot more going on that just them losing the Quidditch Cup to Hufflepuff.

"Draco?" he asked. "What's going on?"

"Do you know that my parents never expected me _not_ to make the Seeker position?" Draco asked. "My mother, she…was not happy."

Harry swallowed heavily. He knew exactly what that meant. Just like he realized exactly what his actions would cost Draco.

"Merlin, Draco, I never…"

"Don't," Draco said. "It's not, not your fault. Not really."

Just like that, they were friends again, but Harry felt horrible. He hadn't thought his actions through and once again his impulsiveness would cost someone else dearly. He tried to talk to Draco about it, but was met with a terse "there's nothing you can do." In the end, he had to let it go.

HHPHPHPHPHPHP

Even after Draco and Harry had made up, there was still a nagging sense of guilt inside of Harry. He'd even talked about it with Severus, who could do nothing more than offer comfort. They'd talked about decisions sometimes having unexpected consequences and that feeling guilty about that was misplaced. Harry had almost laughed out loud at that, remembering all too well that Severus' whole career as a spy had come about because of the guilt he felt at the unintended consequence of Harry's mother being targeted by reporting part of the prophecy. Thankfully the man had been too engrossed in his own memories to notice Harry's reaction. It would have been hard to explain.

But, despite his conversation with Severus, Harry's guilt had not lessened. In fact, it had gotten worse as the days went by. The exams and after that the summer holidays came closer and closer, and Draco became more withdrawn. He still studied with them, still worked with them on their current S.I.M. project, but he wasn't as lively as he'd been before. Harry was certain his friend wasn't sleeping well either.

He was determined to do something, anything, to make up for losing Slytherin the Quidditch Cup. He couldn't turn back his decision, but he could at the very least make sure Narcissa would have nothing else to be angry about. So Harry set out to win Slytherin the House Cup. They were just behind Hufflepuff, but Harry felt confident he could earn enough points to overtake them.

In the two weeks before the exams started, Harry pounced on every question asked by the teachers, becoming almost as much a know-it-all as Hermione had been at the beginning of first year. He gathered points like never before, but unfortunately Hufflepuff was also still steadily gaining points. When the exams started, Hufflepuff was still ahead of Slytherin.

After the exams, there was one week left before the grades came out and the End of Year Feast. During this time period, Harry did everything he could to earn some more House points, from helping Madam Pomfrey with sorting the infirmary potions to see what needed to helping Professor Sprout out in the greenhouse. That last garnered him precious few points, but then she was the Head of Hufflepuff. He didn't seek out Professor Snape for an opportunity to earn house points, because he wanted to make sure neither one of them were accused of cheating to win the Cup.

Despite all of his hard work, Harry was aghast when it was time for the feast. Hufflepuff was still ahead of Slytherin, with a measly ten points, true, but in the end the amount didn't matter. They'd lost and Draco would have to face his mother with neither a Quidditch Cup nor a House Cup. It was a depressed Harry that sat with an equally depressed Draco and Theo in the Great Hall, decked out in the yellow banners of Hufflepuff.


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's Note: This last year has not been a very good one for me, health-wise. As such, updating this story took a backseat to a lot of other things, and it didn't help that the muses were more happy to play in other fandoms. But NaNoWriMo is approaching and I am going to focus on this series this year, so I really wanted to finish Of Past Times before November 1st. Therefore, you now have three brand new chapters to enjoy, although they are unbeta'd (please, do point out big mistakes!). I will be writing A Time of Choice, the next story in the series that will show Harry's third year, during November and if all goes well it will be finished at the end of the month and I will be able to regularly update it while I work on the next story. Thank you all for your patience during this last year.**

**Chapter ten: Everything Must End**

Severus carefully added the shredded hellebore to the softly simmering potion, stirring it vigorously. Immediately, it began to bubble viciously, and Severus quickly added the ground moonstone to neutralize the mixture. He stared at the green glop that resulted with distaste and vanished it with a violent swish of his wand. Yet another attempt that ended in disaster. Still, he was determined to find a way to improve the Wolfsbane Potion, perhaps even one day find a cure for lycanthropy.

Severus crossed out his latest possibility for improving the recipe on his list and went to get the ingredients for his next attempt. He only had tonight left to work on the potion, as he didn't want to work on it during the summer. Harry had never been able to stay out of the lab when he was working, even if Harry was just doing his homework. Severus liked that Harry wanted to spend time with him, but at the same time it meant he couldn't work on this. He didn't want to get Harry's hopes up.

He felt bad enough for getting Lupin's hopes up, but that couldn't be helped. He had needed to see the transformation under Wolfsbane in order to see what did and didn't work with the original recipe. Last week had been the first full moon after Severus had decided to work on improving the Wolfsbane Potion and Lupin had been more than willing to help Severus when he'd suggested it. Severus hadn't been too keen on it, but it had to be done, terrifying as it was.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHP

"Are you sure you want to do this, Severus?" Lupin asked, yet again.

Severus just shot Lupin a look. He'd personally brewed the Wolfsbane Potion Lupin had taken and he had every confidence in his brewing skills. Lupin would be harmless. Severus could observe and scan him to collect the data he needed without needing to fear him. Yet the tendrils of remembered fear crept up Severus' spine and only years of practice kept him from turning around and running away.

Lupin undressed, keeping only his boxers on, although Severus suspected that was more to protect his sensibilities than Lupin's. Lupin left his wand on top of the neatly folded pile of clothes and stepped inside the cage. Wolfsbane or not, neither Severus nor Lupin wanted to take any chance of the werewolf hurting any of the children, or Severus for that matter. When Severus had suggested Lupin for the Defense position, the cage had been a demand he'd made. He honestly hadn't thought Albus and Lupin would agree, but they had. Perhaps they'd both been too stunned by Severus' suggestion, he wasn't exactly known for thinking charitable about Lupin.

Severus spelled the cage shut. It was something Poppy would normally do, but with Severus here that wasn't necessary. Granted, Poppy probably wouldn't put the three extra locking spells on the cage, but Severus was taking no chances. He conveniently ignored the fact that even with the extra spells, he felt more afraid than the last time he'd faced the Dark Lord.

The light from the full moon came in through the window as it rose and hit Lupin. Severus could see the bones shifting underneath Lupin's skin. Hair started to sprout on every bit of his skin and his hands were turning into clawed paws. But the most sickening thing were the animalistic snarling noises Lupin made. Severus suppressed the terror he felt and raised his wand to cast several diagnostic charms.

When the transformation was over and Lupin was fully in wolf form, he curled up and seemingly went to sleep. Severus wasn't sure if Lupin was truly asleep or merely pretended to be in order to reassure him. He was not stupid enough to think the wolf couldn't smell his fear. Technically, he was done for now and could leave. The monitoring charms had recorded the transformation and he didn't need to recast them until Lupin transformed back in the morning. Yet he found that underneath the fear, which was lessening now that Lupin made no move towards him, there was also concern. With a sigh, Severus pulled up a chair and settled in to keep watch over his friend. Though if Lupin were stupid enough to make a comment about it, he'd deny it, but he'd come to treasure their friendship.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHP

Yes, that had been a fairly good night. Not only had he acquired the data he needed for his experimentations, he'd also conquered his own fear. Unfortunately the rest of the week had not gone as smoothly. Severus scowled at the memory as he vigorously stirred the Wolfsbane into the potions base. It turned a bright blue and began to bubble furiously. A few sprigs of parsley calmed the potion and Severus set it to simmer. At the same time, the anger that had been simmering for most of the week came to the fore as he recalled Fudge's high-handed demands.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHP

Severus knocked on the door to Albus' office and was called inside. The fact that the Headmaster hadn't called him in before he was able to knock set Severus on edge. This was exacerbated when Cornelius Fudge was the first person he saw once he entered the room.

"Ah, Professor Snape, lovely to see you," the portly man said.

Severus wanted to give him a sneer, but knew it would not be in his best interest to alienate the Minister of Magic if it wasn't necessary.

"Headmaster, Minister," he greeted.

A subtle slight, but a very satisfying one. Especially since Fudge was politically savvy enough to notice such a slight. From the twinkling amusement in Albus' eyes, he too had caught the slight and was enjoying it greatly.

"Might I enquire as to the reason for your visit?" Snape asked.

"Ah, yes, well, I am actually here to talk to Harry," Fudge said.

Severus was immediately on his guard. What could the Minister possibly want from Harry? He could think of a lot of things, none of them good.

"Since the dear boy has now entered the political arena, I thought it wise to have a little talk with him," Fudge said. "But I was informed by the Headmaster that I would need your permission for that, seeing as that you are now Harry's guardian."

Fudge's tone was light, but Severus saw the subtle signs of derision when he talked about Severus being Harry's guardian. Not for the first time, he was very glad the judges in the guardianship cases were old powerful Lords who didn't need to listen to anyone, nor were they poor enough to give in to bribery. He knew the Minister would have overturned his guardianship of Harry the moment he heard of it had he been able to do so.

"Political arena?" Snape said. "What a ridiculous notion, Minister. Harry's twelve, a second year. All he's concerned with is his schoolwork and having fun. Although I'll admit he has a somewhat unhealthy interest in Quidditch."

"Oh, but he is exercising political moves, Professor," Fudge said. "Perhaps you've been too busy to notice? He's endorsing laws, you know."

Ah, so that little incident that Harry and his friends had instigated with the Board of Governors had finally made its way back to Fudge. Severus had wondered if there would be questions after the law had been passed a month ago.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Minister," Severus said. "But I can ensure you, Harry has not been endorsing any laws. When would he have done that, according to you?"

"I'll have you know he convinced several opponents of Lucius Malfoy's Early Intervention Law to vote in favor of it. Surely, you must see this as a political maneuver!"

Severus cast a quick look at Albus, who was mercifully keeping out of this discussion. With the topic being a law Albus had long fought against, Severus was unsure if he could expect help from him.

"What I heard from that incident was that Harry merely asked a question. He's friends with Lucius' son and as such hears things about Lucius' work. He was merely curious and then gave his own opinion. Hardly a political maneuver," Severus said.

He hoped the Minister wouldn't push it, but of course he did. Whenever had Fudge taken the rational route when it came to politics?

"He's the Boy Who Lived, Professor Snape, and if you cannot see what power he has because of that, perhaps you are not a suitable guardian for him," Fudge said imperiously. "Now, I demand you call him up here so I can talk to him."

The implied threat was not lost on Severus. But since Fudge had no influence whatsoever on the guardianship process, no matter what he thought, he was not impressed. Besides, the news from St. Mungo's was that Black's treatment was yielding improvement. As soon as Black was declared healthy, he'd take back guardianship over Harry. Either way, Fudge's hands were tied.

"No," Severus said. "Harry is in class and that is where I should be as well. You will not be talking with him, now or in the future, Minister."

Without waiting to be dismissed, he inclined his head to Albus and left. Behind him, Fudge's angry spluttering could be heard and brought a smile to his face.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHP

Severus scowled as much at the memory of the Minister's demands as at the potion bubbling far too much in his cauldron. The parsley had not calmed it down for very long and putting any more in it would react negatively with the nettles in the base. He vanished the potion and violently scratched out this option on his list.

Just as he was about to start on the next possibility, the alarm he'd set went off. Severus cursed, the afternoon had gone by far too quickly and he'd not gotten nearly as much done as he'd wanted. He hesitated briefly, debating if he should just skip dinner, but he knew it would not do for him, as a Head of House, to miss the Leaving Feast. With a sigh, he cast a preserving spell on the ingredients he had lying around and left for the Great Hall. He'd get back to experimenting after dinner for a few more hours.

Severus was the last teachers to enter the Great Hall, except for Dumbledore, and as he took his seat next to Minerva, she cast him a questioning look. He merely gave her a smile to let her know there was nothing wrong, before turning his gaze towards the children. Most were talking loudly and seemed excited for the holidays to begin.

However, several children were not nearly as happy as the others. Severus sought out those students he knew had a difficult home life and while they were putting on a cheerful front, for the most part, none of them were very happy the school year was over. But the most striking were the three students sitting all the way at the end of the Slytherin table. Theodore was silent and a bit down. Draco was as he had been for the past weeks, silent and withdrawn. Severus knew very well what awaited him at home, now that he had lost the House Cup on top of the Quidditch Cup.

Harry was perhaps the most silent of all. His ostracism from Slytherin House hadn't been bothering him much, Severus knew, for the continued support of his friends had kept him from being isolated. Yet Severus dearly wanted Harry to be accepted back into his House and had even talked about it with Albus. Unfortunately, neither Albus nor he had been able to think of something that would cause his House to accept Harry back.

But Harry's silence was caused by Draco's plight and his own feelings of guilt about it. Severus had seen the hard work he'd done to gather enough points to surpass Hufflepuff, right up until the last moment. Severus had been tempted to award random points to his own House to up his chances of succeeding, but per Harry's request had not done so. Apparently, Harry wanted to keep playing fair, even taking it to the extreme and not doing any extra jobs for Severus. Sometimes, Severus wondered how the child could have been Sorted into Slytherin with such displays of Gryffindor traits. But he'd abided by the child's wishes, which ended in disaster, as far as Harry and Draco were concerned.

After seven years of consecutive winnings, this year Slytherin had lost the House Cup to Hufflepuf with a difference of a mere ten points. The Hall was decorated in yellow and black and behind the Head Table a large banner with Hufflepuff's badger hung. Harry's face was a picture of misery and Severus wanted nothing more than to take all of the child's worries away. That he couldn't irked him to no end.

Just then, Albus entered the Hall and the chattering died away.

"Ah, time flies," Albus said. "Can you believe another year is over already? But, before we can begin to feast, there is a House Cup to award. I've understood the score is as follows: fourth place is for Ravenclaw with 328 points; third place is for Gryffindor with 394 points; second place is for Slytherin with 430 points and in the lead is Hufflepuff with 440 points."

The Hufflepuff table cheered loudly and Pomona had large grin on her face. Severus gritted his teeth and stamped down on the urge to yell. They had no idea what the consequences were of Slytherin not winning the Cup this year and Severus shouldn't begrudge them their happiness. He still did, of course, but he shouldn't.

"Not going to be a sore loser, are you?" Minerva whispered teasingly.

Severus merely ignored her, focusing on Albus who was still standing.

"Yes, yes, very good Hufflepuff," Albus said. "But there's been a slight oversight that needs to be rectified."

The Hall fell silent and the Hufflepuffs were looking at each other with confusion. At the Head Table, Severus, along with every other teacher, was looking at Albus trying to determine what he meant.

"Yes, I'm afraid there is one person who should have gotten some points but hasn't yet," Dumbledore said. "To Mister Harry Potter, for fair play under extremely difficult circumstances, I award twenty points."

The Slytherin table exploded in cheers. Dumbledore merely clapped his hands and all decorations changed to the silver and green of Slytherin, the badger being replaced with a snake. Pomona's smile had fallen off her face and she merely nodded to Severus, who was too dumbfounded to do anything but nod back. Over at the Slytherin table, Harry was being overwhelmed by his house mates, the points to win having earned back their respect. Draco and Theo were grinning like crazy, although Severus detected a large amount of relief in Draco's grin.

Harry had a smile on his face, but turned questioning eyes on Severus, who shook his head in answer to his silent question. No, he'd had nothing to do with Albus awarding those points. Severus knew there would be repercussions to this, of course. The other Houses were not happy at all that Slytherin had once again won the House Cup, and in such a way. Nor was Severus assured about the fact that Albus had no ulterior motives to this. He hated himself a little that he doubted Albus' motives this much, but he knew better than anyone how far Albus would go to protect the Wizarding World as a whole. And like it or not, Harry Potter played a big part in that.

Either way, it didn't matter, because at this time, Draco was infinitely safer from his mother's wrath and Harry was once again accepted by his house mates and happy. The rest, Severus could and would deal with.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHP

The first day of the summer holidays found Severus and Harry busy working in the basement of Spinner's End. Severus liked to get all of the brewing for the Hospital Wing out of the way in the first few days, so he could experiment and brew for pleasure the rest of the summer. There were plenty of potions Harry had the skills to make on Poppy's list, and since Harry had graciously offered to help Severus, both had been busy with brewing since breakfast.

Watching Harry look at him, wiggle a bit in nervousness, then concentrate back on his work, Severus sighed. It was obvious Harry had something on his mind and it pained him that the child still thought he couldn't freely talk to him. Just as Severus was wondering if he should give Harry a little push to get him talking, Harry evidently gathered up his courage and started the conversation himself.

"Severus, do you remember me telling you about S.I.M.?" he asked.

Severus nodded, already feeling a headache coming on. What in Merlin's name had those children done now? He was dreading the answer, since Fudge was already clamoring for access to Harry. Even though the despicable little wizard had backed off for now, Severus knew he'd be back. He did not need Harry and his friends poking the dragon.

"Well, we've been working on something," Harry said. "Wait, I'll just get it."

Harry left, leaving his half prepared ingredients on his workbench. Severus sighed, put out the fire beneath his cauldron, cast some preserving charms and made his way upstairs. He had a feeling this discussion was going to need tea. Preferable with some firewiskey in his. He heard Harry thundering down the stairs.

"I'm in the kitchen," he called out.

Harry came into the kitchen, clutching a book in his hand just as the teakettle started whistling a tune. Severus poured the tea and sat down. Harry slid the book over to him.

"We made that," he said.

Severus looked at the book with interest. A Muggleborn Guide to the Wizarding World by A.N. Onymous, he read. He opened it and looked at the chapter list. It was pretty inclusive, with topics like Howarts and Schooling, Shopping in the Wizarding World, Magical Beasts, Magical Laws Made Easy and Common Wizarding Customs. He picked a page at random and read a bit. Apparently he'd picked the chapter about shopping, as the page contained a small paragraph about Hogsmeade, visiting rights for Hogwarts students and a drawn map with all shops and restaurants marked. The text was engaging, clearly written for children but not condescending.

"Impressive," Severus said. "But A.N. Onymous?"

Harry grinned sheepishly.

"Well, we wanted to be anonymous, but Hermione thought a name sounded better. So when Theo said it like that for jokes, it kind of stuck," Harry said. "We wanted to ask if you could get it on the booklist for first year students who are Muggleborn or Muggle-raised as obligated reading material."

"I could suggest it to the Board of Governors," Severus said. "But I fail to see why I should do so."

"We wrote all the information in there that Hermione and I would have wanted to know when we entered the Wizarding World. Theo and Draco helped with what they thought Muggleborns needed to know," Harry said. "It's just, it's real important, you know, to be able to feel like you fit in. Neither Hermione nor I felt like that, we just felt lost. This would help."

"Yes, but there's the Early Intervention Law now," Severus said. "That would solve those problems, so why the need for a book?"

Severus knew he would suggest the book for the booklist, for it was a good book and an even better idea, but he wanted to know how serious Harry and his friends were about this. How much more they were planning, and most importantly, what their motivations were. Harry heaved a sigh, but it was more a gesture of annoyance than of defeat. Severus was hard pressed to keep the smile of his face.

"The Early Intervention Law won't help all Muggleborns, only those children that exhibit their first accidental magic after it went into effect. Not to mention that it will be some time before the magical sponsors know exactly what balance to strike between letting the parents raise their kids and providing enough information," Harry said. "And even then, the book might still be a good idea, just in case."

The arguments were solid, logical, and if Severus wasn't mistaken, previously prepared. He gave Harry a smile, but wanted to push just a little bit further.

"Even if the Board of Governors agree to put it on the list, we would be hard pressed to get the book out in time for this year's Muggleborns. Not to mention we would need someone to back the publishing of this book financially," Severus said.

It were all valid concerns, but given the fact that this plan was hatched by three of his Slytherins and Miss Granger, he figured the children had thought about this. If they hadn't, he would be sorely disappointed in them.

"There's already a proof of the book at the printer," Harry said. "There's about five Muggleborns a year, but for the first printing we were counting on about 200 books, because some older Muggleborns might want it also. He can do that in about a week."

"Sounds good, but where would the money come from?" Severus asked.

He impressed with the preparation they'd already done, but knew the money would be the biggest obstacle to this plan. For the first time since Harry had shown him the book, the child seemed nervous.

"We thought, once the book was out and if it was a success, we might find financial backers. There's not that many books we need each year, so the costs wouldn't be so high," Harry said. "As for the first batch, I hoped that you'd, maybe, give permission for the money to be taken from my vault."

Severus sat back and thought about it. Harry's arguments were solid and the expense of the book would be recuperated from the sales. It was guaranteed that sales would be made if the book was put on the book list as obligatory reading for Muggleborns. It was an investment and as such Severus didn't see much harm in it.

"I'm assuming you want to keep your involvement quiet?" Severus asked.

"Yes," Harry said. "None of us want it public that we wrote the book."

"Then I'll contact a Wizarding Attorney to make the contract with the printer and make sure that nothing can be traced back to you, since money is usually the easiest to follow if people get nosey," Severus said.

"Yes, thank you!" Harry said and jumped up to hug him.

"Fine brat," Severus said, hugging him back. "Go back to your brewing while I set this in motion. The next Board meeting is Friday and this needs to be watertight by then."

Harry went back to the basement with a big grin. Severus summoned parchment and a self-inking quill and started on a letter to the best British Wizarding Attorney he knew about. He gave a rueful smile as he worked. He knew he should've kept an attorney on retainer!

HPHPHPHPHPHPHP

The rest of the week went well. The Wizarding Attorney Severus had written was quick and efficient and all was set for the Board meeting on Friday. Severus had verified with Harry that Lucius had been appraised by Draco of their plan. While there had been no word from either Draco or Lucius about it, Severus was sure Lucius would be in favor of the book. So that left eleven other Board members to convince. Difficult, but doable. In fact, Severus was looking forward to it.

The brewing that had to be done was out of the way much quicker than ever with Harry's help and on Wednesday he got the news that one of the articles he'd managed to write during the school year had been accepted for publishing in Potions Quarterly. But his good mood was utterly destroyed by the note St. Mungo's sent him on Thursday, telling him Sirius Black was transferred from long-time care into short-term care. They expected to be able to release him in a matter of weeks and were just doing extensive testing now.

Severus crumbled up the note and threw it into the fireplace, where he cast an incendio at it. As he watched the notice burn, he suppressed the misery the note had brought him. He might have to give up his guardianship to Harry in a few short weeks, but until then, Harry was his. He wouldn't tell Harry about this. Instead of having the child look forward to getting Black back as his guardian, Severus was going to spend every minute he could with Harry, enjoying his company while he still could. He could wallow in misery after Black had taken the child he considered his son away from him. For now, he was going to make this a summer to remember.


End file.
